My time with Arts in Medicine began the summer of 2014 when I became a volunteer and worked in the Circle Arts Studio. In this position, it was my job to do art activities with pediatric patients awaiting doctor visits.  That experience allowed me to see first - hand the benefit of having the arts in the health field because of how it relaxed and brought joy to patients and their family.

 

After my experience in the Circle Art Studio ended, I spent the next year with Arts in Medicine as a dance volunteer in Dance for Life where I worked with people who have Parkinson's Disease. That volunteer experience significantly impacted me because I was able to witness the joy that dancing brought to the patients. One patient shared with me that when he danced with us "[he] feels like a normal individual. [He] feels like someone not ridden with Parkinson. [He] feels alive." It was after this volunteer opportunity that I knew I wanted to keep the arts in my future career and opportunities in the health field. 

 

After a year of volunteering, I became a Research Assistant with Arts in Medicine where I began to evaluate the impact the arts had in disseminating health education in Uganda through theater drama, radio shows, music, and comic books. I also performed literature reviews and helped formulate articles that would be used to properly define Arts in Medicine in the United States. This experience provided me with the opportunity to see how the arts are used in other cultures and the important role it plays in helping people communicate and connect. It taught me that the arts can help us transcend language barrier and allows us to tell a story to connect with others as well as ourselves.