{"id":23809,"date":"2026-02-11T17:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/?p=23809"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:32:18","slug":"spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/","title":{"rendered":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda on a dental mission trip as a student dental hygienist. This experience allowed me to combine my passion for oral hygiene with cultural exploration in such a welcoming place. The locals were incredibly kind and taught us so much about Antigua. One of my favorite places we visited was Devil\u2019s Bridge, where we saw powerful waves and learned about the island\u2019s history and natural beauty. Antigua truly has the bluest waters I have ever seen! Exploring the culture helped me feel more connected to the community we were serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Providing dental cleanings was the most meaningful part of the entire experience for me. Families were lined up for dental services as early as 5 in the morning, many with their children. This, to me, in itself was eye-opening, because it showed the need for oral care in the community and the extent that some people have to go to just to receive it. Some patients came in nervous, but they always left happier and more comfortable. Everyone was so grateful to learn more about oral hygiene, and it felt amazing to be able to provide that care. I felt grateful to use the skills I have been learning over the past two years to make a real difference. Even small moments, like helping a child feel comfortable and making their dental visit a positive experience, meant so much to me. The gratitude from patients is something I will never forget, and it reminded me why I chose dental hygiene in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trip truly changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others through compassionate, patient-centered care. I was very upset about leaving, but I will definitely be back in the future on more dental mission trips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Grisilda, SPC Antigua Dental Study Abroad Program, January 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda on a dental mission trip as a student dental hygienist. This experience allowed me to combine my passion for oral hygiene with cultural exploration in such a welcoming place. The locals were incredibly kind and taught us so much about … Continue reading SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1966,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[964,953,68,927,936,24],"tags":[],"coauthors":[923],"class_list":["post-23809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antigua-2026","category-bahamas-2025","category-jamaica-dental","category-jamaica-dental-2022","category-jamaica-2023-dental","category-travel"],"yoast_head":"\r\nSPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda on a dental mission trip as a student dental hygienist. This experience allowed me to combine my passion for oral hygiene with cultural exploration in such a welcoming place. The locals were incredibly kind and taught us so much about … Continue reading SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! →\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Center for International Programs\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1290\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1690\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gloria Parrott\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gloria Parrott\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gloria Parrott\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8\"},\"headline\":\"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":327,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/antigua-mara-2026-782x1024.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Antigua\",\"Bahamas 2025\",\"Jamaica (Dental)\",\"Jamaica 2022 (Dental)\",\"Jamaica 2023 (Dental)\",\"Travel\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/\",\"name\":\"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/antigua-mara-2026-782x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg\",\"width\":1290,\"height\":1690,\"caption\":\"Screenshot\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/\",\"name\":\"Center for International Programs\",\"description\":\"Providing students, faculty and staff opportunities on how to become globally engaged.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8\",\"name\":\"Gloria Parrott\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=ge7cec5e6ea69c8b4b06781acc1d5cbc6\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gloria Parrott\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spcollege.edu\\\/international\\\/author\\\/parrott-gloriaspcollege-edu\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs","og_description":"I recently had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda on a dental mission trip as a student dental hygienist. This experience allowed me to combine my passion for oral hygiene with cultural exploration in such a welcoming place. The locals were incredibly kind and taught us so much about … Continue reading SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! →","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/","og_site_name":"Center for International Programs","article_published_time":"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1290,"height":1690,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gloria Parrott","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gloria Parrott","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/"},"author":{"name":"Gloria Parrott","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8"},"headline":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!","datePublished":"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/"},"wordCount":327,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026-782x1024.jpg","articleSection":["Antigua","Bahamas 2025","Jamaica (Dental)","Jamaica 2022 (Dental)","Jamaica 2023 (Dental)","Travel"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/","name":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others! - Center for International Programs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026-782x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-11T22:10:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T15:32:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/antigua-mara-2026.jpg","width":1290,"height":1690,"caption":"Screenshot"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/spc-antigua-changed-my-perspective-and-strengthened-my-passion-for-helping-others\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SPC Antigua: Changed my perspective and strengthened my passion for helping others!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/","name":"Center for International Programs","description":"Providing students, faculty and staff opportunities on how to become globally engaged.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/#\/schema\/person\/d05d4851428fb457781006d21c72dcd8","name":"Gloria Parrott","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=ge7cec5e6ea69c8b4b06781acc1d5cbc6","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7dec7903b7f7adde75649d8b28adffb1f12b77a271f43e6dc1167729408d2629?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gloria Parrott"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/author\/parrott-gloriaspcollege-edu\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1966"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23811,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23809\/revisions\/23811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23809"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=23809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}