BuckeyeThon High School Event: Centerburg High School

Describe your involvement with this organization:

Since I came to Ohio State I always knew I wanted to be involved in an organization that was bigger than myself. So, once I learned about BuckeyeThon at OSU I knew I wanted to get involved with this organization to help the kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In BuckeyeThon, my responsibility is to be a high school mentor to one of the Columbus area high schools, Centerburg, and to assist the students and faculty involved there to put on their own dance marathon type event at their school. Each week I communicate with the school to help them plan for the large event they put on for the community. I must advise them on what is the most effective techniques to putting on a large event and how to raise money for their event and get donations from local businesses. By being very involved in the planning process within the high school, I can help create a very successful event.

Describe what you gained as a result of this experience:

As a result of this experience, I have gained vast knowledge on what it takes to plan a large event and how to mentor others. Throughout other organizations I have been involved with, I have planned and run events in the past, but before this project, I had never been the go to resource to running a large event. Reflecting on the event and the past year, I have learned about the vast importance of planning and having an alternate plan in case of problems that emerge. I have also learned the importance of helping others and teaching others for the betterment of the futures. Many of the high school students that I worked with over the past year had never been involved in an organization that has required so much coordination with others. By being a mentor with Centerburg students I have been able to teach and help them grow into a more adult like figure.

Describe positive changes to the community as a result of your service experience:

By putting on SWAGATHON at Centerburg High School in early January, we really made a strong impact on the entire high school community. We had many high school students outside of the organization and community members attend the event during the day. I think the community members were really able to see the impact we were making in the lives of the patients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and really connected to the cause of pediatric cancer. By having kids that were treated at Nationwide at our event we were able to encourage those there to have real interactions and conversations with the kids and the families and learn about the experiences they went through. My hope is that because of our event, those in the community can look how lucky their lives are, and how there are many that do not have the same luxuries and health that many of us do, and it is our responsibility as community members to help those that are less fortunate.

Describe a person with whom you interacted that made a strong impression on you, positive or negative:

A person that I have interacted with during this project is one of the BuckeyeThon Kids Riley. Riley has overcome bone cancer and has become one of the most fun loving people I have met. For someone who has gone through so much in her life, she is so carefree and loves to attend the high schools events like SWAGATHON. By being able to hang out with her and interact with her, she has inspired me to never give up and keep pushing through all of the challenges. The biggest lasting impression Riley has had on me is the infectious happiness she has. Riley has created her own brand called Simley Riley because everyone should be happy in life no matter what. I have learned that no matter what happens, their is always a reason to smile.

Complete the following sentence: “Because of this service experience, I am__________”

Because of this service experience, I am a better….

• Community member
• Student and friend
• Mentor
• At inspiring others
• Person

Informational Interview: Carl Cefalu

Why did you select this person to interview?

I selected this person to interview to gain some insight on the different career paths in the healthcare field. I am currently in the second year of majoring in Biomedical Science and have the current plans of applying and attending medical school. I chose to interview Dr. Cefalu to gain insight and information about the optometry field and how a career in optometry is. I have wanted to attend medical school for years, but since coming to Ohio State my mind has opened up to the other professions that I can be in involved with in the healthcare field. By conducting this interview I hope that I gain insight about what optometry offers as a career.

Describe the major responsibilities in the role?

The major responsibilities involved in the job include performing different clinical tests and evaluations of patients but also up keeping medical records and dealing with paper work from various insurance companies. Every day as an optometrist you must perform the standard evaluations of the eyes. If there is a certain deficiency in the eyes or some condition that the patient suffers from you must evaluate the symptoms and perform a diagnosis on the patient and recommend various treatment options. In addition to the standard diagnosing of patients, if you own your own business, you must also deal with the various insurance paperwork. Depending on the recommended treatment and operations performed, you must bill the insurance companies various amounts and stay transparent with the specific patient.

Discuss how the person prepared for this role, and if they provided you with any advice as what you might be able to do to prepare for a similar career.

Dr. Cefalu attended Ohio State for a bachelors degree and continued on to graduate from Ohio State’s optometry school. To prepare for the current role of being an active optometrist, Dr. Cefalu committed to working hard and learning the knowledge he needed to to be an expert in his profession. Advice that he provided was to always keep working hard and do not give up on your dream whatever that may be. He also recommended that although it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve your dreams of attending medical/optometry school, you must have fun and find something to do that allows you to relax. If you cannot find something to do that provides relaxation and relief from the ever day challanges of the healthcare field, you will burn out very quickly.

Summarize any insights from the interview that might be helpful in your academic or career preparation.

The insight that I gained from this interview is to choose what you want to do in life and do not let anyone else talk you out of it. Choosing your career and attending a graduate school is a lifetime decision, and you need to do something that you love. For the healthcare field in particular he recommends volunteering in a variety of different fields to find the one that fits you the best. I think this will lead to me looking at careers beyond just medical school, and open up my mind to all of the possible professions there are in healthcare and find the one that will make me the most happy.