Volunteer effort adds to knowledge

Amanda Wingle, 17, recently received the Marge Spuck Junior Volunteer Award and a $250 U.S. Savings Bond for her humanitarian efforts at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.

The senior at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany said she was surprised by the honor because she is just one of many people who volunteer there.

Amanda, who usually works in the pediatrics unit, said her job is easy; she just does "whatever the nurses need me to do" during her two-and-a-half-hour shifts twice a week.

With kids

"Sometimes, I just sit with a patient," Amanda told The Evangelist. "Occasionally, I may read a child a story or play a game with him or her. The best thing about working with kids is that they are so much fun to play with. Sometimes, they are lonely when their parents can't visit. I try to spend time with them, and it helps them to not feel so alone."

In addition to volunteering at St. Peter's, she spends Wednesday evenings at Teresian House in Albany, where she visits with the elderly residents.

"It's really great spending time with them," she said. "If you saw most of these residents outside of Teresian House, you probably wouldn't even know they live in a nursing home. I have become a friend to several of them. One lady loves to look at pictures of places people have visited, so I always try to bring in some when I know I am going to spend time with her.

"In the hospital, I am very busy, always running around, doing something. When I'm at Teresian House, I can slow down a little, just listen to the stories some of the residents like to tell. They are very interesting."

Plans for future

Amanda hopes to become a physician in either emergency medicine or anesthesiology. Her volunteer experience has helped her see the human being inside the patient.

"I've always looked at medicine as a technical field," she explained, "but now I realize that you must take time to get to know [patients] and understand where they are coming from. Sometimes, spending just a bit of time with a patient, offering them a little companionship, can be just as important as any medical procedure.

"Now that I've seen how enjoyable it can be to get to know patients, I hope to be able to hold on to that as I study medicine and interact with patients in the future."

(Amanda is president of her school's service club, which organizes such projects as monthly food and clothing drives. She is the editor of the school's literary magazine, "Spectrum." Playing classical music on the piano and creative writing are her hobbies.)

(11/11/04)