KARESSA GRAHAM

As a caregiver, I have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives by providing companionship, preparing and serving meals, helping with mobility and bathing, light housekeeping, and enriching the life of someone who needs assistance to stay independent.

I volunteered at St John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard, CA in the mother and infant unit. My duties included answering call lights, bringing food/water/blankets to patients, restocking supplies, disinfecting vital machines, and turning over patient rooms after discharge.

Work-study with my affiliated college as a mail clerk included organizing packages, logging in and out packages, and distributing the mail to students and faculty from various mail services.

While being a care provider I cared for and assisted a person with autism. This included providing companionship, personal care, and home management.

When I was a host, it included greeting the customers, coordinating the seating for the whole restaurant, seating the customers, collaborating with the servers, training new staff for the host position, and cleaning the tables, bathrooms, doors, and floors of the restaurant. Cashier/take-out included taking customers' orders both in person and over the phone, packing orders, and restocking condiments.

I started with a mentorship, shadowing and observing the doctor for a minimum of four hours a month. It then turned into an internship for a minimum of four hours a week. I observed patient care, reviewed X-rays, CT scans, and observed orthopedic surgeries.

While I was interning I was required to take notes and write a report of what I observed during the four hours.