The community partner was a friend of my mom and she runs her own daycare for the children in her neighborhood. I volunteered with her on November 23rd, 2019 from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon. I helped her take care of the kids which included teaching them how to wash their hands before and after eating, how to play with the other kids nicely and how to clean up after themselves when they play or eat. 

Her purpose is to provide safe and affordable childcare for the young mothers in her area. She provides a daycare service Monday through Friday, she begins at six in the morning and usually has the last child picked up around six in the evening. She serves the need of childcare for families who may not be able to afford traditional daycare or those who do not have family that can take care of the children. 

I really saw just how much kids touch toys and cough on their hands and touch their faces. I used to think that having them wash their hands after using the restroom was enough, but after acknowledging that they touch everything and there are germs on every surface, I realized that they need to wash their hands more frequently. For example, one of the children had a small cold, nothing contagious, he just had a cough. I noticed him cough on some of the toys he was playing with, and then not a few moments later I saw another child put it in her mouth. So we showed him how to cover his cough and how to ask for hand sanitizer or to go wash his hands. We were also wiping down toys and surfaces as the day went on to help with the reduction of germs. 

Since I want to deliver children or become a pediatrician, working with children at this age gives me a better insight as to what children can get into and how to handle those kinds of situations. Another degree besides Public Health that I could possibly go for would be Early Childhood Development or Biology. I don’t think that I would do Early Childhood Development because, to me, that relates more to education or caregiving, however Biology would be my parallel major because i would be taking classes more related to the human body and how it works. 

I spend about an hour on each class and if there’s a longer assignment then about two hours, versus at the beginning of the semester I would study for longer amount of times but I would over work my brain and after about four hours I would be burnt out. So I have learned how to study smarter by breaking up my study times. I have also learned that I do better studying by myself than with a group. I am more focused on my work when I’m by myself. Doing practice test and problems are still the most effective for me as well as flash cards for termanology. 

I thought that college would be the hardest thing I have ever done up until this point. I thought my classes would be overwhelming, but I came to realize that it’s only overwhelming if you let it be. I didn’t know if I could balance working and going to school while still getting all my work done and have a social life, but I made it work so far. I found the zoo trip with Professor Lopez to be very helpful in reviewing for our test and really solidifying the terms. I thought that the last Chemistry review we did was unhelpful. Doctor Maloney didn’t teach it and the professor or TA that did teach it, was very confusing. I wish I had known the true importance of utilizing office hours. I learned that you can nap in the Webb and no one really cares and I learned that the writing center as well as math tutoring are crucial.