Year in Review

Year of Synopsis

 

This year I had the privilege of volunteering for Grant Medical Center, a nonprofit faith-based adult hospital in downtown Columbus. They are a Level One trauma center, and ranked #16 by U.S News and World Reports for Ohio hospitals. Four of their main focuses include Trauma Care, Surgery, Neuroscience, and Orthopedics. The staff are incredibly kind and helpful, always happy to answer any questions I had while on the job. They would show me around the hospital, and took the time to get to know me personally. My volunteer coordinator, Betz Steele, was wonderful and personable. She took pride in her volunteer staff, and always accommodated for me whenever I needed it.

Betz started me out working on the Woman and Infants department, where I got to spend time with the newborn babies. I helped stock patient rooms with heating pads and other various toiletries, and helped the nurses whenever they needed something. Everyone on the floor was extremely kind and treated me as an equal, eager to teach me new things when the chance arose. I was then switched to work in the Service Excellence department, which involved distributing and picking up “Power of One” forms. These forms gave staff and patients the opportunity to recognize someone in the hospital’s hard work, and give them a “shout out”. I loved doing this job, and reading how appreciative everyone was of each other. The volunteer attire was a blue polo with a nametag, and anytime a staff member saw me walking with the cart, they immediately thanked me for donating my time to help out the hospital. Being able to give back and help out was truly an inspiring experience.

I was able to take away a multitude of lessons and skills from working in this environment, whether I was able to learn on my own or through the help of the staff. Working on the Woman and Infants floor, I was able to learn by listening to the daily routines of the nurses and doctors, and learned some of the procedures they would often talk about. This sparked my interest in neonatal care, something I may want to pursue in the future. Working on this floor allowed me to see the medical side of the hospital. However, working in the service excellence department allowed me to see a completely new side of the hospital, the side run by non-medical staff. It takes an incredible amount of work to ensure a hospital’s success, and I got to meet very hardworking and driven people who made it all happen. Overall, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had of working alongside staff at Grant Medical Center, and hope to continue in the future.

G.O.A.L.S.

 

Global Awareness: I decided to use my STEP money to help me spend a month in Ghana this upcoming May for a Child Health Internship. This will help expand my understanding of healthcare outside of the US, as well as learn a different culture and all that comes with it. Thanks to STEP, I am able to pursue my dream of working in a third world country in a setting that will give me the full experience.
Original Inquiry: For one of my Art Education class papers, we had to take initiative and go to a cultural event that was something we had not experienced before. I chose to go to a catholic church, and was so intrigued by the subject that I decided to take it a step further and go to a youth group meeting with my friend to learn more.

Academic Enrichment: I am currently in Physiology, which I believe is the hardest class I have taken so far at my time at OSU. The class requires many hours spent outside of lecture teaching yourself and applying the material. This is an example of how I spend my time in and out of the classroom to ensure my success in the course.
Leadership Development: Last year, I was the Internal Campaigns Coordinator for BuckeyeThon, and was in charge of coordinating the Letter Writing Campaign, where team members can send letters to friends and families asking for donations. I created and wrote the letter, and was also in charge to organizing addresses and sending out the letters themselves.

Career

Resume

Resume-1n4wpp7

Applied Experiences throughout Sophomore Year

Grant Medical Center

Volunteering at Grant Medical Center has opened my eyes to a new side of health care, and has made me even more excited to follow a path into nursing. My time at Grant involved working directly with patients to improve their time spent in a hospital, as well as working along side nurses and doctors, learning their expertise. I was able to learn the ins and outs of a hospital, and developed professional skills in regards to working in a medical field.

Sports Clinic Counselor

For three years I ran a sports clinic camp, which  enhanced my leadership skills as well as improved my ability to connect and interact with children. I was also able to work on my communication skills, putting together schedules and executing them throughout the summer months. I aspire to work with kids when I am older, and working directly with them in a leadership position has only furthered this desire.

BuckeyeThon

This year I joined the Development committee for the general body of Buckeyethon, where I have already started to work on my professional skills. Part of my responsibilities involve reaching out and making strategic plans with companies in Columbus for various events throughout the year.

 

Artifacts

 

skiing

Skiing has been a huge part of my life ever since I was young. In the eighth grade, I tore my ACL skiing and was out of sports for over a year. When I was finally allowed to ski again, I was nervous, and was extremely cautious while going down the slopes. Years have passed and skiing has become a huge part in my life again, and I am happy I was able to overcome my injury to keep up with something I love and that I can share with my family. Me and my sister love to ski together (who is pictured above with me) and is a great way to bond with her. I flew home a few weeks ago, and had the opportunity to take her out of school for the day and go up to Vermont for a ski day. This is a memory that we will share forever together, and skiing is something that will always keep us close.

About Me

I am from Connecticut, and was born in Norwalk, a small city where my parents lived at the time. My mom was born in Nebraska but was raised in a beach town in Rhode Island, while my dad had grown up in Fairfield, CT. My family now lives in Trumbull, a small town about an hour and a half from the city. I have always strived to do well in school and work to the best of my ability, and hope to continue this throughout the next few years of college. I also value the importance of giving back to the community, and am currently involved in volunteering for Grant Medical Center. I hope to continue my service hours next year by volunteering for Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I am currently a pre-nursing major, on the track to be a pediatric nurse practitioner. Until I hear back from nursing, I’m using this time now to fulfill my GE requirements and complete my pre-recs.  In my junior year of high school I traveled to Italy with 50 other students in my school, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I will be traveling to Ghana this May, and am excited to see a new continent. Sophomore year has brought me an abundance of opportunities, and am excited to see what the rest of my undergraduate career at OSU will hold for me.