December

Volunteer Hours Summary:

September: 5

October: 7

November: 6

December: 12

Total: 30 hours

I can't seem to understand how this semester went by so fast. I have enjoyed every moment while learning about various disease states, the diagnostic process, drug indications and mechanisms, and more from highly experienced professors. I have learned so much, volunteered at such a great school, and made wonderful friends all in such a short time. I look forward to next semester, see you in 2015!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving! With such a short month, I didn't have much time to volunteer at the KIPP Leadership Academy. Nonetheless, we were productive and I hope I helped in some way. This month, our focus was to complete a project that has been ongoing for a while. As volunteers, we spent our time organizing and sorting the books in the library by reading level. This was a nice and relaxing project. It was fun to see the various titles of children's books and reminisce about our childhoods and the books we used to read. I also helped the front office with delivering fliers to the classrooms. As I ran these errands, I got a glimpse into the various conversations and situations that were going on in the school. I walked by a young lady being scolded by a teacher for not controlling her anger, another child was being lectured for saying something inappropriate that she apparently didn't know was bad, two little boys were laughing at their teacher who was being goofy, and more. I was reminded of the demanding job the teachers had and of how innocent these children really are at their age. As someone with interest in pediatrics, I enjoy volunteering at KIPP and learning how to communicate and interact with the kids from experienced teachers. Oh no, it's December, okay bye!:)

Organizing Like a Squirrel

Happy Halloween! Bringing cool breezy weather and pumpkin pie lattes, October has been a much awaited month that has lived up to its expectations. The pharm-life has been great with renal block flying by quickly and not to sound cheesy but I’m learning so much. The teachers at KIPP this month were busy setting up for their fall fest celebrations where they planned to dress up in costumes and play carnival games with the kids. Though some volunteers were put on the job of setting up for the fest, I was put on the duty of organizing the character lesson books. Every month each class is taught a different character lesson such as self control or forgiveness through a book with a moral. It was great to see that the KIPP curriculum not only focuses on academic subjects but also real world issues that will help these kids become better people. When we sat in the library/media center organizing the character lesson books we saw how dedicated and caring the teachers at KIPP were as they enthusiastically participated in their weekly meeting. As they addressed various issues and worked through possible scenarios it was visible how much they cared to be a lasting positive influence for their students. I hope to learn such dedication and more from these inspiring educators.

Volunteer Hours:

10/27/14--4

10/30/14--3

 

September

I love being part of the KIPP school program. Though I may be doing little things such as organizing file folders and worksheets or arranging school supply kits, in the end I’m helping. It is one less thing for the teachers to do so they can focus on the job they were trained to do; to educate and inspire these young kids. The positive impact and influence that the KIPP program has on these kids’ futures is inspiring. Exposing them to the concept of higher education and the educational opportunities they have before them at an early age is a huge part of the KIPP school’s curriculum. It is so sweet the way that their classrooms are named after universities so they can proudly proclaim “I'm in LSU” or “I'm in Tulane”. These kids are constantly reminded to aim higher. Ms. Hong tells them “when you get to and through college, you can call me by my first name.” It’s nice that from a young age, they think about the future and learn about the world outside of their micro-environment. I’m lucky that the importance of education has always been very apparent in my life; I grew up learning how different my world would be without it. Despite growing up in a mainly agricultural community with less than a primary school education, my grandfather understood the importance of education. As he sold farmland to finance his childrens’ education and encouraged them to pursue higher studies, people in his community thought he was a joke. They would say “who sells land for books?” If it weren't for my grandfather’s forward thinking and respect for education, I wonder if I might have been sitting on a buffalo, drinking from a coconut right now. I don't know, maybe.

Volunteer Hours:

9/18/14--2 hrs

9/24/14--3 hrs