Putting humanity back in healthcare — community service experience helps K-State pre-med student remember what medicine is all about
Becoming a professional healthcare worker is a hard journey. Through the rigor and stress of learning about the human body and how to treat patients, future doctors can be at risk of forgetting why they do what they do.
Roberto Maldonado Flores, a K-State pre-med student, has always been passionate about helping people in need, and his volunteer experience with ASD (AIDS Service of Dallas) reminded him of his lifelong goal.
“In pre-health, you focus a lot on the coursework and preparing for medical school, and it can make you lose sight of what really matters,” Flores said. “This trip helped me remember that my goal is to help people in need.”
Hands-on volunteer work
Flores was a part of a team of K-Staters who traveled to Dallas through the Alternative Break program in the Staley School of Leadership. They helped ASD to re-mulch the local playground and build a pergola for outside gatherings and barbecues.
After touring the ASD facilities, the K-Staters spent several days assembling the pergola — an outdoor addition many of the people at ASD were looking forward to. They were assisted by two grounds-workers from ASD who gave them instructions and lasting memories.
“They told us stories of the residents who came and went at ASD,” Flores said. “Their presence was a calming force in the hard work and chaos — like when the pergola instructions blew away.”
After the pergola was finished, they moved on to the mulch work. First, they had to dig out the sand in the playground and transport it away in wheelbarrows. Then they filled the playground with mulch, which was the easy part but one of the most rewarding experiences for Flores.
“When we had just finished working on the playground, some families were already using it,” Flores said. “One of the mothers came up to me and genuinely thanked me for taking out the sand because her kids kept tracking sand into the house. That reaction made the entire trip worthwhile and reminded me that I’m studying healthcare to put smiles on the faces of people.”
K-State support
Flores said his experience was a gamechanger for his career and he is grateful for the opportunity to go. K-State has given him a lot of support over the years, including the $50,000 Linda Laughlin Distinguished Scientist Scholarship in his sophomore year.
“My experience with ASD through K-State was very grounding and rewarding in ways I didn’t expect,” Flores said. “I would definitely recommend this opportunity to any K-State student, regardless of major or career path, but especially to those who are going into the care industries.”
By Kate Ellwood