Sadler Clinic

My experience at Sadler clinic made me realize that there are a lot of things that i took for granted- especially my family. I remember being very inspired by some of the patients that I met. Despite the fact that patients were sick and didn't know how long they have to live, many of them seemed extremely optimistic and had a very positive attitude towards life. The doctor shared with me that its not easy doing what he does because a lot of the time you have to detach yourself emotionally to be a good doctor. There were many incidents where a wife or husband found out that their significant other have cancer and begged the doctor to try to save their spouse. It's very heartbreaking to me and I realized that not everyone can do what Dr. Berilgen does and it made me really appreciate doctors like him. My volunteer experience at Sadler Clinic inspired me to want to be in a field where I can help others. Also, the experience taught me to really appreciate everything that I do have. A lot of the times we get so caught up in our day to day lives, we forget what living life is all about.

Tina Le

Sadler Clinic

My first day volunteering at Sadler clinic I met all the nurses and the radiation oncologist, Dr. Berilgen. They were all very nice and appreciative of the fact that I was willing to donate my time to help the cancer patients. Most of the cancer patients I met that were undergoing treatment had skin problems and hair loss due to the harmful radiation treatment. The nurses and I had to apply special products to the their treatment area and showed them the post-treatment care. I do remember one of the patients really touched my heart when she shared her story. She was diagnosed with cancer a year ago and had treatment before and they removed the cancer but she recently got tested and the doctor told her the cancer cells came back. It was just really sad because even though she wants to stay alive and go through treatment to get better, she says she doesn't know if she can do it anymore. The way she described it was that the same thing (treatment) that was keeping her live was poisoning her at the same time.  I felt a lot of empathy for these patients for what they have to go through. It made me realize that I shouldn't take my health for granted and that I should take better care of myself.

Still waiting

I have been checking my email on a daily basis to see if there has been any updates from CIS. I guess they're still in the process of running my background check and nothing has been confirmed. Hopefully, it will not take much longer.
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Tina Le

Day 1

I decided to go to Hamilton middle school on Friday afternoon and asked to speak with the VIPS coordinator. The lady at the front desk sent me to see the assistant principle, Mrs. Myers. At first, there was a lot of confusion as to what I was suppose to do and who I was suppose to speak with but then I told Mrs. Myers that I was working with CIS and so she led me to meet the CIS project manager, Natalie Flores. Natalie was not expecting me because Julie did not confirm anything with her and said that Julie had already sent her a volunteer from UST--Mike. So then Natalie tried to contact Julie to get approval from her but she did not get a response and so she asked me to check back with her on Monday. I didn't get to work with the students that are part of the CIS program but Mrs. Myers was more than happy to have me there as a volunteer. She led me to a few classrooms and introduced me to the teachers and I ended up helping Mrs. Smith, a seventh grade math teacher, with her students. I also worked with some eighth grade boys that got pulled out of class with their Reading/Language. Even though that wasn't part of the assignment, at least I made good use of my time while I was there.

Tina Le

My Expectations from the Experience

The school I have selected is Hamilton middle school. I am really looking forward to being a part of the community service learning experience. Although being a part of CSL is required for a grade, I know this will be a life learning experience. From my understanding, some of these kids that need tutoring may be falling behind because maybe they are not getting the support they need at home. Whatever the reason is, I am grateful that my time can hopefully make a difference in their lives. Even if it's a small difference, at least it's one step closer to getting them on the right track.

Tina Le