Personal Narrative: My Volunteer Experience

Carefully, with a shaky hand, I successfully inserted an insulin pump into my left thigh. I counted every carbohydrate I ate and timidly calculated my carbohydrate/insulin ratio. The liquid I was distributing throughout my body was not in fact insulin, but saline. Volunteering as a diet aide at Camp Carefree, a children’s summer camp for type one diabetics, gave me the opportunity to know what it felt like to step into these innocent children’s shoes. Throughout college I was told I needed to get volunteer experience in order to get a dietetic internship, so I did. I volunteered at a medical center under the guidance of a dietitian, gave nutrition education to adults with physical disabilities at the Easter Seals, was the treasurer for the
Nonetheless, through the challenges, I discovered strengths in myself. I have always been mainly a follower because I am easy to get along with. At times this quality has hurt me, but during my time at the camp I was transformed into a leader. The group of volunteers I was working with were not as motivated or passionate as they could have been. I could not do all the work myself, so I took my stand as a leader and motivated the dietary staff team to do their best work. I used my voice to delegate tasks to efficiently get them done, as well as pushing with perseverance when I was beyond the point of exhaustion. After coming back from the camp I have continued to use my voice and speak my opinion. Being confident has led me to be distinguished from my fellow peers at the University of Delaware. I was given the opportunity to be a teachers’ assistant for a 300 level nutrition counseling course. My duties were hands-on and included leading an inter-disciplinary approach to education with the nutrition and theatre departments. Theatre students were trained to act as patients and nutrition students had the opportunity to practice their assessment, counseling and communication skills. I was in charge of making sure the sessions ran smoothly and addressed any questions or concerns students had. With my commitment and interpersonal skills I was a Women of Promise Recipient and I received a junior
I would like to contribute to the 96 percent success rate of interns who passed on the first try at the UVA Health System dietetic internship. I want to acquire the necessary skills and professional behaviors to become an entry-level dietitian and this dietetic internship would provide me with the techniques and tools to get me there. In the future I would like to become a board certified specialist in either nutrition support or pediatrics. Being an intern at UVA health systems would present me with the opportunities to explore different specialties of nutrition by learning from well-respected experts to help me determine which area I am most passionate about. Getting the opportunity to participate in unique rotations such as transplant, PICU and nutrition support emergency/medicine will give me an advantage in the future to learn what specialty suits me the