Miami Palmetto High rising senior Adetola Alonge won the Brandeis Book Award at Palmetto’s end of the year awards ceremony. Book awards are given to outstanding juniors.
One of things that makes Alonge an outstanding person is her volunteer work at Baptist Hospital. She visits children in the pediatrics unit, giving comfort and cheer. Her volunteering led her to begin a community service project called Color for Comfort.
“We collect coloring books and crayons and activities to donate to Baptist Hospital,” she says.
Although she collects the coloring books year-round, she and a friend also plan seasonal projects.
“We’ll do craft projects at Christmas time,” she says.
In the future, some of the coloring books and supplies will be donated to South Miami Hospital.
Her first stop on volunteer days is the nurses station.
“My supervisor will give me a list of kids. ‘This kid likes this, this kid likes that. Go in there and see what they want to do’,” she says. “I might go in there with a board game, maybe do arts and crafts. Do what they like. I’ve read to them. I talk to them. It depends on the kid.”
Sometimes they play games in the lounge and sometimes they stay in the patient’s room, depending on the child’s needs.
“I really like working with kids,” she says. “I started in errand services and transitioned to pediatrics a year ago.”
From her volunteer work at her church, she realized she prefers working with kids rather than running errands from department to department. Still, seeing how sick some of the kids are breaks her heart, but she believes that the time she spends with the children makes them feel a little better. It makes her feel good to help them have fun, even if it’s only for a little while.
“Kids end up being there without their parents,” she says. “Those are the kids I go to, the ones without their parents are lonely.”
Her volunteer work at the hospital is motivated by her interest in medicine.
“One day I’ll be able to help those children,” she says.
Alonge volunteers at her church once a month, taking care of foster children and adopted kids that come with their parents who attend events organized by the foster and adoption ministry.
At school, she’s the incoming secretary for Key Club and the incoming community service vice president for the National Honor Society, and a member of the English Honor Society.
“English has always been one of my favorite subjects,” she says.
She particularly likes the English Honor Society because members get to share their writing.
Next year, she’ll participate in the Panther-to-Panther program, mentoring underclassmen at school and tutoring them if needed.
In college, she’s considering biology as a major. She’d like to become a doctor. This summer, she’s interning at the University of Miami Medical School doing research through the JJ Vance program.
“I’ll be working in a human genomics lab,” she says. “I’ve always been interested in science. My dad is a science teacher. My mom is a nurse.”
In the past, her dad helped with science fair projects. With his help, she intends to do another one next year based on the research she conducts this summer. She’s already talked to her science teacher about the possibility.
As to which college she’ll attend, she’s not sure yet. She’s doing a college tour this summer to see which schools might be a good fit. She would like to go out of state.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
