Called to Serve by Emma

Called to Serve by Emma - February 2019 Scholarship Essay

I came to the realization in high school that I had a passion for helping others and especially liked working with children. I began to help out at school functions as much as possible, doing whatever I could to lend a hand and also volunteered at the preschool. During my senior year of high school, I went on a mission trip with a group to Haiti to build houses for the local community and to share the Gospel. This experience opened my eyes and was truly a great experience. Not only am I extremely thankful that I was able to have this opportunity and be a witness to these people, but I am now much more appreciative for the people in my life. One of my personal goals in life is to be in a profession that I am able to serve others with my strengths and believe through my dream job of being an Occupational Therapist I will be able to do this. Through working with children and working with military veterans I discovered the true passion that I have for working with others. These two places, although serving two distinct age groups, were similar in the way that they inspired me.

Volunteering with military veterans has been one of the most honoring and rewarding opportunities that I have been a part of thus far. I believe there becomes a new meaning when we choose to serve those who have truly laid down their lives to serve others. I found that the right words in the right moment could really open up our relationship. I made a point to start each session with a hug or a handshake, asking how the veteran was feeling that day, and then reminding them that each successful day in which exercises were completed was another step closer to our shared goal of getting them back home. Men and women who have been through serious struggles, witnessing far more things than I can ever imagine, are telling jokes and reflecting on the journeys that they have gone through. I found that through building a relationship with these individuals I was able to gain their trust.

When I first started at the Veterans Home I was told that there was this one male individual that the staff would like me to work with because no one else could understand him. He had a stroke, which caused him to slur his speech and have poor dexterity in his right hand. I made it an effort to spend time with him throughout my volunteer week. I would encourage him to use his hand for as many activities as he could. He enjoyed looking through his picture albums and at the various cars he used to work on as a mechanic. I would set his picture albums in front of him and sit beside him and tell him to flip through the pages, helping him when necessary. This gentleman also worked for NASA and was very interested in watching videos on rockets launching and landing. In order to do this, I told him that I would should him how to open the video on the computer but then he must do it himself. This often times took many tries, but we accomplished our goal and were able to see the rockets that he worked on. One of the most challenging tasks that I asked him to do was to play billiards. This may seem like a simple task to others, however, for a man that is in a wheelchair and can barely use his right hand, it proved challenging. He was able to hold the pool stick and make several shots in a row. Afterwards, he was incredibly thankful, saying that he had not played pool in over 40 years and thanked me for challenging him. This experience encouraged me and helped me see how important it is to believe in someone. Whenever I would come to see him I would ask how he was doing, if he was eating, and how he had slept that night. He would follow these questions by asking me how I was doing. This showed me that when a trust relationship is built with the patient, much more can be accomplished than if I was to walk in and tell him what to do without starting a conversation and establishing rapport.

Through attending Loma Linda University’s highly respected program I will be able to help serve a much vaster amount of people. In attending classes and applying myself in different fieldwork settings, I can learn from not only the instructors and therapists but also the students around me. By sharing ideas and possible techniques that could be used in therapy, my knowledge of the field can only grow. Having received by Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary studies, completing all required prerequires, prepares me for this learning journey in furthering my higher education.