Fiji: The Mission at Natuvu Creek Program
Students will have the opportunity to live on the shoreline of this beautiful island while assisting and serving daily at the Mission at Natuvu Creek. Students participate in the services of the mission’s medical clinic, work in the local schools in rural areas of Fiji, assist the locals with building and renovation projects, and in general serve the community in any way that is asked of them.
Program Dates
June 6 - July 2, 2026
*The dates listed above are planned group flight departure dates from LAX and in-country return departure date.
Costs
Health & Safety
Visa Information
Course Requirements and Offerings
Refer to the academics page for details on the minimum unit requirements and class pre-requisites for the program. Textbook lists will be provided by the program staff.
Faculty-in-Residence
Dr. Cooker Storm
Associate Professor of Sports Medicine
Dr. Cooker Storm received her PhD in Exercise Physiology from Michigan State University. She went on to complete her Certificate in Epidemiology at Michigan State University. In 2006 she was a Postdoctoral Fellow for Disease Prevention Research at the School of Medicine at Stanford University. Her areas of research focus on maternal and child health, preventive medicine, and scientific reasoning and research methods.
Dr. Hunter Paris
Assistant Professor of Sports Medicine
Following an undergraduate degree in Biology Education Hunter lived in his mom's garage and read Jack London novels. Hearing his own Call of the Wild, he fled the country to Uganda, East Africa where he lived for two years, working as a teacher for the United States Peace Corps. After the Peace Corps, Hunter studied obesity and energy flux at Colorado State University. He did not, however, study time management, which is why a two-year degree took him three and a half. As he departed CSU he left with not only a master's degree, but also a certificate of marriage, having met his best friend and inspiration! Together, Brittni and Hunter moved to Indiana University where Hunter pursued a PhD and questions about high altitude and human endurance, and where Brittni pursued answers to a far greater question: What is a Hoosier? Four years and one PhD later, Hunter was called to yet another university set within an altogether intolerable environment: Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. It's a sacrifice living in such a harsh place, but he is willing to endure. At Pepperdine, Hunter works in the Sports Medicine program, teaching and researching human physiology alongside a team of brilliant undergraduates.