Feeling Thankful (November Service Projects)

Total Semester Volunteer Hours: 14.5

        Things just keep getting better...The month of November has brought more opportunities not only in this masters program, but in being able to offer my service. I'm learning more about the different body systems and more drugs. This last module was extremely interesting to me because we learned about hypertension, the kidneys, and lab techniques, which I needed a refresher on. Normally I volunteer at Second Harvest Food Bank, but this month brought about two different volunteering opportunities. 
       First, I volunteered at the heart walk, where I was able to meet up with a classmate and we worked with a photographer taking group company photos. Being paired with my classmate and the photographer surprisingly brought us a study review and much laughter. Once the photographer found out we were pharmacology students, he immediately asked, “do y’all know what losartan is?” and we actually could respond with confidence since that drug was recently studied in our last block. From there, our booth-mate ran down his whole medical history to us including an emergency helicopter ride that kept us very interested. He also told us about the statin he was taking that his provider told him not to skip more than four days or else he would die, in which he told us he skipped eight days and lived to tell the story, which is not something we recommend per his doctor’s orders. Not only did we get a drug review, but our booth-mate even gave us tips on the photography profession and how to work around the outside lighting. The heart walk participants even allowed us to take their separate pictures on their personal cameras so they could have their own pictures, which I really enjoyed. The heart walk was an overall pleasant experience since we were able to witness heart surgery survivors ranging from young children to adults who had the honor of wearing red capes for the day. I plan on volunteering at this event again if the opportunity arises. 

        My final volunteer hours came from the Thanksgiving day breakfast and lunch hosted by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. This is my third year serving at this event, and I would not have missed it for anything. I was able to serve food to the community in the convention center and was happy to be there to serve people who were so grateful to have a nice hot meal and dessert on this holiday. It brought me great pleasure to have several of the community members request a certain dessert and me go find it for them and bring it back to them and they be filled with joy over something so many of us take for granted. This event also provided clothes, drinks, gift bags, and entertainment. All of my fall volunteering turned out to be fun and rewarding so I am once again grateful to not only be furthering my education at Tulane, but I am also grateful for the volunteering opportunities.

Heart Walk Service: 5 hours

Thanksgiving Service: 2 hours