Student Programs

Make a difference at any age.

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Help us transform lives around the world while earning service hours, learning valuable skills, and making friends with peers from different countries.

Connect with Student Programs

The goal of Operation Smile Student Programs is to help you better yourself so you can better the lives of others. We empower you to help others while supporting your personal and professional growth.

The Vision of Student Programs: We envision a world where every child has access to life-changing, comprehensive medical care — and where every student across the globe takes action to make it possible. Operation Smile Student Programs nurtures a global community whose contributions to our cause ensure healthcare equity for all.

The Mission of Student Programs: We empower student volunteers to make a direct impact on the lives of our patients and their communities. We cultivate generations of compassionate, empathetic leaders whose meaningful contributions help to increase access to medical care, educate around cleft conditions and build kinder, more inclusive communities around the world.

Three Steps to Get Started with Student Programs

Connect with your regional associate who supports clubs and student volunteers in your region. Send an email to [email protected].

Our Pillars

Operation Smile offers unique experiences for young people around the world to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Operation Smile’s patients, including the opportunity to serve on an international surgical program. We rally our student volunteers to take on activities around our three pillars.

This is what you learn in order to make a difference. We’ll help you learn what you need to know to be the best advocate for people born with cleft conditions. This includes:

Taking part in Operation Smile’s annual student leadership conferences, such as our International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC) and Latinoamerica En Accion conference (LEA).

Using online resources such as iSmile and explore educational modules on cleft conditions, the history of Operation Smile and specific information about what Operation Smile does.

Connecting and networking with generations of Operation Smile global volunteers and Student Programs alumni for career guidance and mentorship opportunities.

This is how you teach others about what you’ve learned. Help us spread the word about Operation Smile and teach your community about cleft lip and cleft palate. This includes:

Promote Operation Smile and its work within schools, local communities and social media. Raise awareness and reduce stigma about cleft conditions and facial differences in local and global communities.

Identify a specific cause to advocate for that you are passionate about (such as policy change, overcoming barriers in access and availability of care, social support and so on) and ask others to amplify your message.

Teach others about comprehensive care and its importance. Patients born with cleft conditions often require multiple surgical procedures, dentistry, orthodontics, speech therapy, nutrition guidance and psychosocial care throughout their life. To provide this comprehensive care, Operation Smile’s teams encompass a wide range of medical specialists, all professionally certified and committed to improving health equity and access.

This is what you do to make an impact. No matter your age, you can make a real difference in the lives of families around the world by starting a fundraiser, hosting a service project and collecting essential items for our patients. Other activities include:

Start a Smile Fund, which is a crowd-fundraising platform for Operation Smile. Invite others to support your cause.

Rally your community around a “cashola” night at a restaurant (such as Chipotle) where some of the money earned that night will go to Operation Smile.

Collect toothbrushes and toothpaste that you can donate to Operation Smile for its patients.

Attend Student Events

Connect with fellow students while making a difference for children born with cleft conditions around the world.

Cleft Connect Chat

Cleft Connect Chat is a monthly virtual gathering for teens who were born with cleft conditions.

With support from adult facilitators (who were also born with a cleft), you will also take part in games and exercises that help to boost your communication skills and confidence. Guest speakers often join the chat to share their wisdom and answer questions.

Students form the letters ISLC during the 2019 International Student Leadership Conference in North Carolina.

International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC)

ISLC brings together Operation Smile’s high school and undergraduate volunteers for a weeklong gathering, where everyone learns from inspiring speakers and takes part in interactive workshops. Students leave ISLC equipped with the skills to make a direct impact on the lives of our patients.

ISLC 2025 will take place from July 21-27 at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland!

Latinoamérica en Acción (LEA)

Coming together from Spanish-speaking countries around the world, Operation Smile student volunteers from more than a dozen countries enjoy the same dynamic environment as ISLC, but in Spanish.

For more than a decade, LEA has been hosted in a different country each year and welcomes native Spanish speakers as well as those looking to improve their language skills.

LEA 2025 details coming soon.

How Students Serve on an International Surgical Program

A student must earn the privilege to serve during an international surgical program. Here’s the path most student volunteers take during their adventure with Operation Smile:

Start or join an Operation Smile club at their high school or university.

Rally their community to support Operation Smile through fundraisers, service projects, donation drives, awareness campaigns and more.

Attend an Operation Smile student leadership conference, such as ISLC and LEA.

Apply to join a regional leadership council and work with peers to host larger-scale Operation Smile initiatives.

Apply to attend an Operation Smile international medical program. (High schoolers serve as health care educators who teach our youngest patients the fundamentals of healthy living. Undergraduate students serve as journalists who capture interviews and multimedia from the program.)

Upon graduation, return to Operation Smile as alumni and use their talents to support the organization. Many return as medical volunteers, donors and advocates for Operation Smile.
Volunteer to serve as adult chaperones during our leadership conferences and international programs.

Connect with Student Programs for more information.

By the Numbers

Since our first student club was founded in the 1980s, our student volunteers have grown significantly.

40+

Countries with Student Volunteers

400+

Student Clubs

40+

Years of Youth Empowerment

Brigette Magee Clifford speaks during the 2019 International Student Leadership Conference.

Our History

Youth empowerment has been at the heart of Operation Smile since its start in 1982. Operation Smile co-founders Dr. Bill Magee and Kathy Magee brought their oldest child, Brigette, on their first medical program in the Philippines and were impressed by her compassion as she comforted patients and their families. From then on, we’ve always included student volunteers in our surgical programs and within the organization. Now Brigette Magee Clifford is the associate vice president of Operation Smile Student Programs.

Ready to Take Action for Operation Smile?

Click to your region of the world and contact the Student Programs staff member who supports students and clubs where you live. Whether you’re just getting started or if you’re a longtime volunteer, this associate can help you with any questions and activities you have in mind.