SERVICE – Summarize your time spent volunteering for 20 hours over the past year. Next, describe your most memorable service experience. What makes this experience the most memorable? What was your role? What did you gain as a result of this experience? Please include the what, where, who and for how long at each place you volunteered. This should be 2-3 paragraphs.
Gaining volunteer experience in various types of projects throughout my first year at OSU gave me insight into what I want to be involved with in the future. As part of the first-year Health Sciences Scholars program requirements, I was faced with a task of completing at least 20 service hours from 2016-2017, which was not overwhelming to me at all! We had complete freedom to choose what we wanted to do to meet this requirement.
Fall semester –
I spent 3 hours on August 27th, 2016 volunteering at the Garden of Hope, a community garden for cancer survivors and cancer patients off campus, sponsored by the James Cancer Hospital. I went with many other Health Sciences Scholars and had a good time harvesting plants! Also, I helped the Honors & Scholars house make cards for soldiers for 1 hour on 9/1/2016. I helped MUNDO make room decorations/crafts for James patients and Nationwide patients for a total of 2 hours (9/12/16 and 11/21/2016, respectively), which took place in the Ohio Union. I assisted at various American Red Cross blood drives around campus for a total of 2 hours as well (9/19/2016 and 9/21/2016). I checked in donors and escorted them to the blood vans, and helped prepare them for their donations. One blood drive was at the College of Public Health while one was in my dorm. Additionally, I spent 3 hours on 11/6/2016 passing out water to runners/walkers at a local race with other members of the student organization Buckeyes for Public Health. This occurred at an Upper Arlington high school and the event was called “Derriere Dash”. Furthermore, I spent 4 hours spread across 12/1/2016 and 12/2/2016 calling current high school seniors in my Young Scholars Program to talk to them about OSU and how to prepare, what to expect, how to pack for summer bridge, etc. During winter break, I volunteered 3 hours on 12/20/16 at a Los Angeles food bank with 30 MUNDO members. We sorted through hundreds of pounds of food and discarded ones that expired while organizing the still edible produce to be later distributed.
Spring semester –
From January 3-5, 2017, I served about 15 hours at a nonprofit federally qualified health center (FQHC) in downtown Cleveland called Care Alliance Health Center to gain knowledge and skills related to public health. The several different tasks I took part in were mostly administrative. I made 90 bags filled with socks and gloves to be given to homeless people around Cleveland; they’re called “sock kits”. Also, I input data into a computer database; the data was about demographics, risk behaviors, and test results of patients who came into the center to take free, confidential HIV testing. I also helped prepare mailing envelopes to 50 of the center’s donors to thank them for their contributions.
On January 26, I spent 1.5 hours making lunch bags of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches with two Greek organizations at Hale Hall. I do not remember where these sandwiches went but it was for a good cause! Furthermore, on April 7, I resumed my role as Young Scholar Ambassador as I assisted for 1.5 hours in welcoming the next cohort of incoming Young Scholars to OSU! They’re incoming freshmen who visited campus for Go Buckeye Day, going to info sessions, touring residence halls and public buildings, and also signing their letter of commitment stating they will attend OSU and meet requirements to maintain their scholarship! One of the scholars is also my younger brother, so it was an extra special event for the both of us. I talked to these students and helped direct them to the charter buses that would take them back home.
My service during the school year was diverse (36 total hours) and allowed me to explore and learn about some amazing activities/resources/organizations in Columbus, Cleveland, and Los Angeles. I enjoyed every minute of it! My most memorable volunteer experience was with Care Alliance because it relates the most to my major in public health and my goal of helping out underserved populations, especially homeless and impoverished people who would not be able to access healthcare services otherwise. Furthermore, I spent the most time volunteering/interning here so I was able to do more duties and with Care Alliance, I see more opportunity for me to grow and learn. Most of my experience so far with Care Alliance was behind-the-scenes paperwork or data entry, but in the summer I can potentially do hands-on fieldwork with their mobile HIV testing clinics and summer health fairs. Because I personally knew an executive at this organization, I was able to take part in this activity! In conclusion, I believe my service provided benefit to others and I look forward to doing more! Slowly but surely I can make my mark on the world.