Meet Our Buddies

Monzer Alatrach, a senior at the University of Texas-Austin began his StudentsCare journey in 2018, as a Buddy in our Hospital Buddy program at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. We asked Monzer to share his favorite memory with his Buddy and he told us about a time he helped give his buddy an impromptu dance party– the nurses and doctors even joined in!

Monzer said “It was a really fun experience and my Buddy was really enjoying the music and having a good time dancing. I personally do not prefer to dance, but seeing the smile on my Buddy’s face as they danced to the music was really touching and I could not help but dance a little as well!”

Lorena Fernandez began volunteering with StudentsCare two years ago as a Hospital Buddy at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Last April, when StudentsCare launched a new buddy program for seniors isolated due to Covid, Lorena was one of the first to jump at the opportunity to serve another population in need. Similarly, when hospital visits for the children also needed to be shifted to virtual visits, Lorena was the first to step up and provide fun and support to a teen who was recovering from heart surgery in the hospital. Even behind a computer screen, Lorena was able to brighten his day. She even found a way to engage her buddy in playing Pictionary and Charades together over video calls.

In June, Daniela Loo, a pre-med junior at the University of Miami, connected with Luis, a 92-year-old man affiliated with United HomeCare in Miami, Florida. Over just a few short months, what you might expect to be an unlikely friendship, turned into a beautiful one. 

“Despite a challenging year, Luis focused on the good and faced all hardships with optimism,” says Daniela.

Delia Chen is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Biology. She began volunteering with StudentsCare during her freshman year, looking forward to forming lasting bonds with children, seniors, and their families. Before the pandemic, Delia volunteered as a StudentsCare Buddy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Now she meets with her Senior Buddy virtually.

Delia says these new avenues for engagement are "an example of StudentsCare’s dedication to providing care to isolated seniors and hospitalized children."

Our organization’s strong leaders have been crucial as we have adapted to the current pandemic and pivoted the services we provide. In the past months, we have transitioned from college students volunteering in hospitals to virtual visits with pediatric patients and seniors. Our Buddy of the Month, Sami Tano, has found a way to implement change and adapt to the challenges volunteers have been facing in her local chapter.

College students have found creative ways to help others during a time of need; Mandy Chuang is familiar with the many ways of giving back to the community. Serving as a Hospital Buddy for pediatric patients and a Senior Buddy for isolated seniors, she has found a way to give back to a wide range of people. She hopes to become a nurse after she completes her degree from the University of Pennsylvania in both nursing and nutrition science. One of Mandy’s favorite memories from her time at StudentsCare was when she was able to make a connection with a teenage patient that had been shy previously with other volunteers. The two of them played a game of Uno for two hours and laughed so hard that they cried! It’s moments like these that Mandy cherishes most as a Buddy!

As our summer comes to a close, we are moving towards Fall and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September. Although we do not solely work with pediatric cancer patients at StudentsCare, our Buddy of the Month, Kayla Mohan finds it inspiring to work with this population. Kayla is a rising senior at Florida International University with plans to become a pediatrician. Her experience with StudentsCare is helping to prepare her for her future career.

Kayla says that "Every week volunteering in the hospital is different. That’s the beauty of StudentsCare. Being able to spend quality time with patients and seeing their personalities is something amazing as an aspiring physician."

Change can bring with it many uncertainties and unsettling feelings. But, change can also open your world to great new adventures and bright spots. For us at StudentsCare, our bright spot brought upon by COVID-19 has been our new Senior Buddy Program, pairing homebound seniors and residents in nursing homes/assisted living facilities with our dedicated college student Buddies who connect with the seniors virtually over phone/video. One of those dedicated students is Lauryn Lima. Lauryn is a Sophomore at the University of Miami majoring in Biomedical Engineering with hopes of becoming a pediatric oncologist. Lauryn has exceeded our expectations of the impact one can have volunteering virtually. She has shown us new ways to show compassion and kindness, even while physically distanced.

“Raimundo is one of the sweetest, humblest, kindest individuals I have ever met,” Lauryn expressed. “Talking to him is my favorite part of my week.”