Helping Hand: Senior Autumn Sun interns at Saint Luke’s Hospice House weekly instead of having a seventh hour

As hundreds of students rush up staircases and down ramps to get from their fifth to seventh hour class before the bell, senior Autumn Sun is pulling out of the parking lot to make the 15-minute drive to her volunteer internship at the Saint Luke’s Hospice House. 

Walking through the doors of the building, Sun heads straight back to head of house Melissa Tinklepaugh’s office to find out what she’ll be doing for the day.

“I do different things every single time I go,” Sun said. “Sometimes I’m at the front door welcoming people, I’ll document and call the families to see if they need anything or sometimes I’ll sit with patients to comfort them.”

Sun first started volunteering at the hospice house over the summer before this school year, and quickly got invested in the program. When she started looking for an internship to fill the time that a seventh hour class would be, she knew that Saint Luke’s was the perfect fit because of her familiarity with the program. She stays for two-and-a-half-hour-long shifts during the time in her schedule that she would have had a seventh hour.

“It’s a really good amount of time to be there,” Sun said. “I think any longer would have more of a heavy effect on me, but since I’m there for a shorter period I have things to do.”

Spending time in the hospice home and going on visits to patient’s homes has been impactful for Sun as a teenager getting to interact closely with older people. 

“It’s just eye opening to see how [patients] are living versus how I’m living,” Sun said. “How different people live can be so different from my everyday life at school.”

Despite being one of the youngest volunteers at the house, Sun has bonded with the other volunteers through sharing stories and getting to know their lives and families. 

“It’s fun to listen to their stories because they just have a lot to say all the time,” Sun said. “When I go in there’s always someone at the front desk and I’ll just talk with them, it’s always something different and it’s good to get to know a ton of different people.”

Although Sun doesn’t plan on pursuing a career in the medical field, the invaluable experience she has gained through volunteering at the hospice home is applicable in many aspects of life.