South Windsor High School junior Michael Wang has his sights on a career in medicine. If that path takes him to UConn Health for his training, he’ll already know his way around.
Michael is one of 33 high school students spending part of their summer volunteering at UConn Health.
“Being able to interact with others is a great opportunity in my opinion, because you’re not only able to grow your own experience and expertise, you’re also able to make others’ days,” he says. “I’m not only working on myself, I’m also helping others along the way, so that’s one of the main reasons why I wanted to volunteer here.”
Michael’s regular hours have been from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays. He spends most of his time helping at the information desk in the UConn John Dempsey Hospital Emergency Department, and sometimes he’ll be at the front desk in the lobby of the main building.
The main thing about volunteering is to try and widen your gaze, and just to experience new things… while also helping others in the process. — Michael Wang
On a typical Friday morning you’ll find Vera Srinivasan assisting at the information desk in the lobby of the University Tower.
“Mainly I escort people to their appointments or to the surgical suite that’s down here if they need help in finding that,” Vera says. “Sometimes if people need wheelchairs, I get that and I take that patient to wherever they need to go. Sometimes I also deliver things to patient floors, if people bring stuff like flowers for patient rooms.”
Mentoring Vera has been Gail Sheehan, an employee and a fixture at the University Tower information desk.
“Our volunteers provide the crucial role of wayfinding which is a key part of the hospital experience for patients, visitors and staff,” Sheehan says. “They help reduce stress, anxiety and frustration. When our volunteers escort patients and visitors this can also make them feel more comfortable in an environment where emotions are already high. Volunteers support the staff to meet the organization’s goals and they humanize our organization, as they engage from their hearts!”
A junior at Avon High School, Vera gets a ride to her Friday morning volunteer shift from her mother, Dr. Sree Raghavendra, associate professor of craniofacial sciences in the UConn School of Dental Medicine.
“Vera loved volunteering here and we are grateful for this opportunity,” Raghavendra says. “My mom was a cancer patient here for the last few months and was in hospice towards the end. She received the best and most compassionate care, and I don’t have enough words of gratitude for everything that the doctors, nurses and staff did for her and for everyone in the family. We wanted to give back to the UConn Health community and Vera thought this would be the best way – to help other patients who come to seek care here. I have been at UConn for more than 13 years and am so proud to be part of our UConn family.”
Vera says she hasn’t narrowed it down yet, but she does know she’s interested in the medical field in general.
“Vera provides kindness, compassion and helpfulness, which has made a noticeable and appreciated contribution to a positive patient experience at UConn Health,” Sheehan says. “We are so grateful to Vera and all of our wonderful volunteers for the excellent service they provide to our patients, visitors and staff!”
UConn Health got its volunteer count up to 99 this summer, 39 of them students on break from high school or college. It marks a 30% increase in student volunteers from last summer. Overall volunteers are at their highest since before the pandemic.
“This summer, we have been fortunate to welcome a dedicated and passionate group of student volunteers who have gone above and beyond to make a positive impact at UConn Health,” says Lisa DeToma, the administrative officer who oversees UConn Health’s volunteer program. “Their energy, commitment, and willingness to lend a hand have made all the difference over the last eight weeks.”
So far this year, UConn Health has benefited from more than 5,500 volunteer hours. The student volunteers will have accounted for more than 1,500 of those hours by the end of the summer.
In addition to supporting guest services, student volunteers also assist patients and visitors in the parking garages and keep older patients company in the Purposeful Visitors Program.
“Our volunteer program plays a key role in supporting many departments within UConn Health,” DeToma says. “The volunteers make a tangible difference by assisting staff and enhancing the human experience.”
It also makes a difference for the students.
“Getting to meet other people who come here and getting to interact with people, I think that definitely helped me with whatever social skills that I needed to improve on,” Vera says. “I’ve always been shy, and I think this experience has definitely helped with that for sure.”
Michael says it didn’t take long for him to fit in at UConn Health.
“I feel like everyone’s really friendly and welcoming,” he says. “And the patients here are also really respectful towards you. And they encourage me to keep working because being able to help someone, it just feels great.”
When he’s volunteering at the information desk in the ED, Michael often works with employee Odyccey Osborne. It can be a busy area and she’s grateful for the extra set of hands.
“He’s a pleasure to be around,” she says. “Down in the Emergency Department, if I have a line of visitors I have to make passes for, Michael is able to bring people back for me while I tackle the line. His addition helps with the flow of things and allows visitors the opportunity to reconnect with their loved ones faster.”
When school starts, Michael is staying on as a volunteer and will be there on Saturday mornings. He encourages other students to look into volunteering too.
“I would say don’t be nervous, because the main thing about volunteering is to try and widen your gaze, and just to experience new things,” he says. “That’s the whole thing, it’s to experience something new while also helping others in the process.”
DeToma says the application process for next summer’s student volunteer program starts in February. In the meantime, she encourages departments at UConn Health interested in hosting volunteers to email volunteerservices2@uchc.edu.
