As a student in the School of Health Sciences, new doors are continually being opened for me into varying fields of healthcare that I never considered before. All students in the Intro to Health Science II course are required to participate in a semester-long Service Learning project within the realm of the healthcare spectrum. Originally, my group planned to volunteer with a hospice service visiting with patients in the final phase of a terminal illness. However, halfway through the semester (after completing an extensive application process, interview and background check), we were informed that there simply would not be enough time remaining in the semester to properly train our group members and still have time to volunteer with patients. At first, our group was devastated and unsure of how to handle the situation. We soon learned though, that a new door was about to open for us.

            A friend of one of my group members suggested that we contact the ARC of Atlantic County, and the volunteer coordinator graciously accepted us into the volunteer program. The ARC of Atlantic County is part of a national organization that provides services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families. Our first experience with members of the ARC came during their Friday Night Teen program. That night, we spent a few hours with a handful of teens with disabilities that come to the ARC simply to hang out on their Friday nights. Between countless games of Jenga, Apples to Apples, and Uno, the hours actually flew by. For me personally, the most exciting part of the night came when I had the opportunity to assist some of the teens in cooking grilled cheese sandwiches and muffins.

         I have known for a while now that I want to be an occupational therapist, but my experience at the ARC only confirmed that belief. Occupational therapists help people of varying ages and ability levels participate in the daily activities, or occupations, that they would like to learn how to accomplish.  While some of the patients I will be working with in future could be recovering from an accident and simply need to re-learn how to complete certain tasks, many of my patients will be people with cognitive disabilities who need to learn for the first time. There was something so rewarding about being able to show the teens at the ARC how to butter the bread for grilled cheese or measure out the right amount of sugar for the muffins because I did not just complete the task for them. I taught them how to do it for themselves, which is so much more valuable in the long run.  There is an old proverb that says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Friday, I was able to give individuals the tools that could bring them one step closer to independence.