6 saint francis magazine | spring 2026 be 10 people at once. It was overwhelming at first. I just had to take a deep breath and just focus on the one person in front of me.” Again, she loved it. Hoot says her experiences in trying to communicate with people of a different language help her empathize with patients she faces as a nurse in the Surgical Trauma Unit at Parkview Regional Medical Center. Many patients don’t speak English as their first language. “It’s important for me to take the lead in having a family member help translate or use one of our interpreters,” she said. “I have a goal this year to learn Spanish and medical Spanish.” Hoot has also traveled to Kenya on a medical mission trip and sees unlimited possibilities where she might travel to bring quality medical care to those in need. “I want to be able to continue my ambassadorship with Building Bridges of Hope and help support them in whatever way I can and travel to other countries and other missions,” she said. “I would love to be down there (in the Dominican Republic) 100% of my time. But, with how much I love the work I do in the hospital now, it’s a tug both ways. Amy Obringer and I have a million ideas. I want to start a maternal health program down there, but we have to take baby steps first.” Hoot still checks in with her mom before—and during—every mission trip. “She tells me every time, ‘Be safe,’” Hoot said. “She’s always going to be my biggest protector—and my biggest supporter. She just cares—that’s what it comes down to.” A drive to help others has always been part of Hoot’s personality, and she says her sense of compassion and care blossomed during her time at Saint Francis. “Saint Francis isn’t just a college I went to,” she said. “It really is the birthplace of everything I embody and that I continue to do. As humans, if you are kind and respectful and selfless, then you think, ‘What can I do for someone else today?’ I really am just a person trying to do some good in life.” Photography provided by Jasmin Hoot The first time Jasmin Hoot (BSN ’23) considered going on a medical mission trip to Haiti or the Dominican Republic, she had rarely been out of Avilla, Indiana, except for family vacations to Florida. Now, spreading her wings at the University of Saint Francis, she was contemplating a massive step into the unknown. “My mom was very reluctant to let me go,” Hoot said. “She even told me, ‘Absolutely not, you are not to go. That is so unsafe.’ This was when a lot of things were happening in Haiti. I said, ‘Mom, this is something I need to do.’” Hoot’s mother relented after an explanation from Jasmin about how longtime mission trip leader Saint Francis professor Dr. Amy Obringer would do everything possible to ensure safety for students. The trip challenged and changed Hoot. Her view of the world, once an insular, small-town perspective, expanded far beyond what she had expected. She went on more “Formula for Life” mission trips with Obringer. Then, after earning her degree and entering a full-time nursing career, Hoot began organizing her own trips through Building Bridges of Hope. She recruited nursing friends who also graduated from Saint Francis, along with coworkers. “I knew the Dominican and I knew the organization and the trip, but to lead was a new learning obstacle,” she said. It was daunting work and more than a little nerve-wracking, considering she spoke little of the language. She loved it. “This last year when we went, I actually stayed an extra week by myself,” Hoot said. “I wanted to see what life outside of the mission team was like for them, so I stayed with the medical director.” Long story short, circumstances made her the medical director for a day, high in a mountainous area of the Dominican Republic. “I had never been in a clinical setting (on a trip) without my team. Now it was just me and I had to AF TER DISCOVERING MEDICAL MISSION WORK AT SAINT FRANCIS, JASMIN HOOT (BSN ’23) PL ANS TO CONTINUE FINDING WAYS TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE MOST IN NEED. t r y i n g t o d o s o m e GOOD IN LIFE
