I am in fourth year at Western University pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Medical Science with a double major in Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology. After I graduate, I hope to pursue a Master of Public Health and then attend medical school. I have participated in and led many volunteer activities and am very passionate about community service.

 

At the start of the pandemic, I wanted to find any way possible to help. As an aspiring my physician, I felt for all the frontline workers and wanted to do my part in helping combat the pandemic and protect the lives of those most vulnerable. Last summer, I volunteered with PPE for HCPs, an organization led by medical students that aimed to collect donations of PPE to provide to frontline workers during the PPE shortage. My role was to coordinate between donors and healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, long term care centres, and homeless shelters, to provide donations of PPE to those in need.

 

Last summer, I also wrote hundreds of personalized letters to seniors living in long term care homes to give them words of encouragement, remind them that they were not alone, and to keep them connected in a time of social isolation. This school year, I worked with my friend Lauren to raise money for the charity, Kids in Camp. Kids in Camp financially supports children in need to make the summer camp experience available to all children. Through running a vintage T-shirt sale and a Krispy Kreme fundraiser, we have raised around $1,300.00 for this charity, and are in the midst of planning our next fundraiser. In the past year, so many children have been disconnected from their friends, and it is our hope that this money will take children out of social isolation and help them have an amazing summer experience and reconnect with their peers.