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What are your job responsibilities and duties?

I'm a volunteer with MedSupplyDrive.  It’s a nationwide, student-run effort to donate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals.  It started at Georgetown University by third year medical students on March 18 and has grown to include more than 650 volunteers in over 40 states.  So far in Dayton, we have given gloves, alcohol pad, shoe covers, and isopropyl alcohol to several hospitals.

What are the daily tasks you perform?

A lot of days, I send emails as often as I can.  Some times, I’ll go to different stores and find gloves or alcohol that we can donate.  A lot of it is waiting from responses from hospitals or individuals.  We also pick up and deliver donations that we receive.

Why is your work considered essential?

If hospitals run out of any of this equipment, they’re unable to help patients properly.  As much as we can give them, it helps them do their jobs.  They’re the real heroes here, but we want to do something that allows us to be helpful.

What precautions are you taking to ensure coronavirus safety?

We’re required to wear PPE when we donate.  We talk to the hospitals beforehand, so we know exactly where to go, and we talk to people who are making donations so that we’re not coming in contact with too many people, just doing what we can to minimize contact.  I encourage everyone to stay healthy and safe.  Minimize exposure to others as best as possible. Follow the advised cleanliness guidelines recommended by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.  Also, try to stay optimistic.  I know it is difficult now during this time of crisis, but we just have to remember that things will get better and life will go back to normal in time.  We are all in this together, and together we will overcome.

What are the lessons you learned at Carroll High School that are helping you navigate this situation professionally and personally?

Academically, Carroll was an incredible school for me to go to.  It really prepared me for [undergraduate studies] at Miami University and Wright State’s graduate program, and I’m really thankful for that education.  In terms of volunteering, Carroll pushed me to volunteer in the beginning.  I first started with Habitat for Humanity my junior year.  Since then, I’ve still been in contact with Habitat for Humanity and help them.  I wouldn’t have been able to do that except for that fact that Carroll opened up that opportunity for me.

How can someone get involved with MedSupply Drive?

You go on the website, become a volunteer, and you’re assigned to a regional manager.  We email different institutions like universities, stores, high schools asking for donations.  Then we figure out what hospital we can donate to and drive the donations to them.  I’m pretty sure all the people in this are just volunteers.  None of us are actual health care professionals yet.  There are a lot of volunteers who are in medical school or pre-med, but you don’t have to be either of those to volunteer.  You can also donate PPE or cash.