Fox Chapel Area High School
Senior? Yes
Elite top 100? Yes
Letters of recommendation: Letter of Recommendation 1, Letter of Recommendation 2
“Hello, ma’am. My name is Will Wang, and I will be taking you down today,” I said to the elderly woman as I loosened the brakes on her wheelchair. She nodded to me, and I took my position behind the wheelchair to lead her to the physical therapy gym.
“So, where are you from?” I asked her as we entered the patient transport elevator.
“I grew up from around here,” she replied.
“That’s nice, you must really love Pittsburgh, then!”
“Yeah, it’s a beautiful city. My family is all from here as well.”
We continued the conversation about how enjoyable Pittsburgh is until we arrived at the gym, where she was greeted by smiling therapists ready to assist her with recovery.
As a volunteer at UPMC St. Margaret, I have had many interactions like this one with the patients when working in the physical therapy department. Each day I volunteer, I have the opportunity to learn about every patient I meet.
When I started, I knew little about what to expect. However, through volunteering, I have learned the value of performing the repetitive, mundane chores that keep hospitals running smoothly and safely. As an aspiring doctor, this is one of many valuable experiences that I will look back upon when pursuing my career.
After a year of being a physical therapy transport, I wanted to see more of the hospital. I figured the Department of Radiology was a great place to learn about, so I requested a transfer. As a radiology volunteer, I helped the staff by either doing paperwork or bringing patients from the waiting room to change in preparation for their MRI’s. When escorting patients, I learned the importance of communicating clearly and succinctly with them, especially those going to have an MRI. If they left even a single piece of jewelry or unauthorized clothing on, both the machine and patient would suffer damage. Being a mere high school student, I was astounded by the level of responsibility the hospital entrusted me with.
In addition to my hospital volunteering, I attended the UPMC Hillman Academy for two summers. I spent both of them in the Galson lab, which studied Multiple Myeloma bone disease. The experiences I gained from my time there ingrained in me the value of patience and persistence. These researchers were spending countless hours in their labs, attempting to tackle one of the world’s most fatal diseases. Just taking part in the effort and saving my mentor time by running gels, genotyping mice, and retrieving ice gave me a sense of accomplishment like never before. As well as gathering invaluable research experience, I was actually making my own contributions to the global battle against cancer.
Volunteering, whether through UPMC St. Margaret or the Hillman Academy, has opened my eyes to everyday life inside a hospital and widened my world by exposing me to many different types of people. Through my experience as a volunteer, I have learned that helping others gives me satisfaction unlike any other.