Sandra Romero de Thompson can trace her passion for service back to high school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. There, her senior class was required to perform community service throughout the school year.

"The project we took on involved helping a group of people who had come to the city from the countryside in hopes of finding a better life. Because they didn't have the skills necessary to create those opportunities, they ended up in sub-standard living in makeshift cardboard homes. We got up every Saturday at 6 a.m. and built desks, chairs, and blackboards for their school. We dug latrines, taught sex education, brought potable water to their community, and whatever else they needed." Romero de Thompson says it was a growing experience that helped prepare her leadership skills for future service endeavors.

Most recently, she and her husband, Jerry Thompson, led a group of doctors, Southwestern students, and volunteers to Santa Bárbara, Honduras, to provide free medical and dental services to local residents. The trip, sponsored by MEDICO and Save the Children, coincided with Southwestern's Destination: Service week over Spring Break. Six students, five alumni, and one professor from SU went on the trip and treated more than 1,500 patients in one week.

Romero de Thompson and her husband have been organizing regular missions to Honduras since 1991. She has been instrumental in setting up host organizations so MEDICO can work in the country. "We do whatever is necessary to get medical, eye, and dental services to the people," she says. "I consider it a privilege to donate my time and efforts to my home country."

Born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, her family relocated to Tegucigalpa when she was eight. After graduating high school at 16, she moved to the United States and entered an intensive English as a second language course designed for international students seeking college education in the U.S. She studied eight hours every day for six months before going to Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. She spent a year and a half there before coming to Southwestern, where she would earn a bachelor's degree in psychology. She went on to earn her master's degree and doctorate in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Texas and now owns a private practice in Austin as a licensed professional counselor and certified rehabilitation counselor.

"Most of my clients only speak Spanish, and many are immigrant parents of children with disabilities. It can be very difficult to deal with giving up your dreams for your kids or at least changing those dreams while at the same time learning to navigate the Special Education system." Romero de Thompson's business also translates from English to Spanish materials relating to disabilities and community health.

Recently, she and her husband established Special Missions Foundation (www.specialmissions.org), a non-profit organization that focuses on education, health and community development in developing countries. Honduras is the initial focus. The idea came to them after Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998. The couple spent countless hours on the Internet getting donations for relief efforts. At the time, they could not reach her family, and she says they were "in a desperate state and felt helpless."

Romero de Thompson and her husband finally were able to reach her family and travel into Honduras, but they realized the connections they made looking for donations could be used to build an organization that helps people who want to get involved and donate time and money to efforts in developing countries. In November, Special Missions will sponsor "Conference on Honduras 2000," a joint effort to establish a network of organizations and individuals who are involved in helping Honduras.

"I believe if you have a clear vision or purpose in life, everything will fall into place," says Romero de Thompson. Her purpose is to aid the less fortunate, especially those in her home country. She says she might move back to Honduras one day, but for now she continues to help her home country in whatever way she can.

-Greg Holland