When Maria Emilce Lopez went to her doctor complaining of headaches, she thought she might need new glasses or better stress relief. Instead, Lopez, an Argentina native and a University of Minnesota graduate student at the time, was rushed to surgery for a brain aneurysm.

That dramatic first brush with the U.S. health care system in the late 1990s inspired a pair of U classes that have trained 1,300 students in helping Latinos navigate that system. The experience made Lopez — now an instructor in the U's Spanish and Portuguese studies program — appreciate how fortunate she was to speak fluent English and have excellent health insurance. At the time, she volunteered teaching English to Guatemalan immigrants who spoke of being too busy or too intimidated to seek care.

In her medical Spanish classes geared to language majors or minors bound for health care careers, students learn useful terminology. But they also spend more than 40 hours volunteering for community clinics and other nonprofits.

"It's one thing to write a formal literary paper for a class and a different experience speaking one-on-one with somebody from rural Ecuador at a clinic," Lopez said.

Lopez developed her classes in the early 2000s. She helps students master specialized Spanish vocabulary. But she also goes over cultural hurdles that might complicate the experience of Latinos and other immigrants with the U.S. health care system. In Argentina, for instance, "public" when it comes to health care means free — a distinction that can trip up newcomers to America.

Then there is the community service piece. Students help streamline admissions at community clinics, interpret at health fairs in church basements or help a metro area school district reach out to Latino families to promote earlier kindergarten readiness screenings. In the process, students meet people who have never had their glucose levels checked or who feel shopping for healthy food is out of their reach.

"By the end of the semester, it's not about the students anymore," Lopez said. "It's about the community they've worked with."

Eli Eggen took the class in 2013, in his senior year as a biology and Spanish double major. Now in the U's pharmacy program, he hoped to sharpen his vocabulary. But the class also instilled a passion for working with underserved patients. He volunteered at the free, U student-run Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, where a patient once spoke about deciding between paying rent and buying insurance.

"Volunteering really opened my eyes to the health care disparities out there," said Eggen, who continues to volunteer.

Megan Curran de Nieto met some of Lopez's students at the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul, which hosts free health screenings and other services. She runs CLEARCorps, a nonprofit that raises awareness about childhood lead poisoning. After students helped her speak with clients at the consulate, she signed up to be a partner for the class this semester.

"Students come to this class with a compassionate heart and a drive to make communities better," she said.

Mila Koumpilova • 612-673-4781