Making a Difference

Summer has a knack for being the "lazy" season. Even Nat King Cole acknowledged it in the song "Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer." But teens now are proving the "lazy" label wrong as more of them spend their summers volunteering.

As teens advance into their high school years, schools are hoping they become more aware of the community around them, which is why volunteering is now a requirement at some schools. And programs like Texas Scholars are helping students pump up their college applications by requiring a certain amount of volunteer time by graduation.

"We think the Texas Scholars program is great. It encourages students to get out in the community," said Jacqui Gore, director of community relations at Odessa Regional Medical Center.

ORMC has their fair share of teens who serve as junior volunteers to fulfill their Texas Scholars community requirements. Gore said ORMC has 34 junior volunteers this summer, ages 14 to 17, all of whom are part of Texas Scholars.

Teens who volunteer at ORMC usually have some interest in going into the medical field.

"We try to expose them as much as possible to help them make their decision," Gore said. "It's better to find out now while they're in high school."

For Brooke Sparkman, 14, and Whitney Watters, 17, volunteering at the hospital has certainly helped them be better informed about possible medical careers.

Brooke works in the perinatal and dietary areas while Whitney works in the nursery. The girls, who are both active in various school activities like tennis and choir, said the experience has helped them become more responsible.

"I'm working in the nursery right now, and it's really fun. It's very helpful because I want to be a nurse when I grow up," Whitney said.

Students don't have to have any training or experience in the medical field, but they can gain experience by shadowing hospital employees and working in any clinical or nonclinical area that interests them, Gore said.

"I've learned to be patient and more caring for them, especially when they (the patients) are pregnant," Brooke said of her experience at ORMC.

But teens aren't the only ones benefiting from summer volunteering. Nurses like Teresa Armendariz said junior volunteers are a big help in the hospital.

"It's nice to have an extra set of hands around. They help us clean up, keep the nursery nice and tidy and clean," Armendariz said. "They're all very polite. They're very mature."

Gore hopes that the high school volunteering will lead to future careers for the teens.

"That's why ORMC participates," she said. "It lights a fire in young people to go out into the health care field; and we need as many young people in our area to go into the medical field as possible."