During last April’s Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, Ortho High student and OIC Volunteer, Kimberly Navarro was recognized alongside 100 volunteers for reaching a “milestone” amount of hours. Since 2019, Kimberly has completed over 200 volunteer hours by assisting our team within our Urgent Care and Rehabilitation clinics, patient recreation program, numerous special events, and participating in our six-week summer internship program! Kimberly offered to talk about her experience as an OIC volunteer to the OIC staff, faculty, community partners, donors, and her peers in attendance, speaking on what she gained from this valuable volunteer opportunity in Los Angeles.
Kimberly's Speech
"Good afternoon, my name is Kimberly and I am happy that you all were able to make it to this wonderful event. A little bit about me is that currently I am a Junior attending Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School and I have been a volunteer at OIC since 2019. My volunteer journey started when I was a freshman and in the beginning, this was all new to me and quite scary. I was not sure how my volunteering experience would turn out to be but I was eager to find out. And well now, I am happy to say that it was beyond what I imagined it to be. Being able to interact with patients everyday and create new friendships has been very rewarding. Not only that, I enjoy volunteering here as it allows me to create a sense of community and it allows me to feel a part of it. Seeing my fellow volunteer friends interact with patients and just spending time together and getting to know one another has been a great experience and very heartwarming to think about.
Being an intern at the Orthopaedic Summer Internship last year opened my eyes to more aspects that the medical field withholds. It allowed me to see beyond professions such as doctors and nurses but the importance of those in the Orthopaedic field. I vividly remember receiving a phone call from Mikey during which I confirmed the department I was going to be in. I remember that this was the first time where I heard the term 'Hemophilia Treatment Center'. I remember after the phone call wondering, 'What department again?' It wasn't until later that afternoon that I got an email with the name and I was like 'Ohh that’s the name.' Clearly I have never heard of this department, however, I was eager and willing to learn about something completely new and unheard of. Summer then comes around and I am finally interning at the Hemophilia Treatment Center Department.
"I shadowed Dr. Bailey, a hemophilia doctor who is also a physical therapist. Being able to learn new medical concepts along the way as well as get exposure to different medical concepts and practices was great as it broadened my understanding of the medical field.
"I recommend everyone to apply for this internship as it is very valuable and enriching. I feel like a great part of this internship is that you present in front of doctors, and other OIC staff about your experience here. And although it may sound scary, it truly is not. This is because you will be presenting all of your experiences and the things you learned, ultimately this is about your experience so what other better person to say it. The beauty of interning was that I was able to expand my knowledge on an unknown topic and learn completely new things.
"I truly feel that our work here has an impact even if it is not directly seen. From lanyards to answering a patient’s concerns, we bring a smile to people’s faces and hopefully make their time here pleasing. To the volunteers here, I would like to thank you, from one volunteer to another. I hope you can realize the impact you are making and how important you are to this community. And I want to thank Mikey, Mary Beth, Ms. Donlucas and everyone that I have ever interacted with for this wonderful experience and for making this volunteer experience great. It truly has been a great experience that I will forever cherish. All in all, I am looking forward to more years of volunteering. And I’m hoping to continue learning more moving forward. Thank you so much for your time and for listening to this speech. I hope you all have a great day."
Volunteering
If you are interested in a one-time, part-time, or full-time volunteer opportunity in Los Angeles, join us at LuskinOIC!
