I remember the day I finally picked a major. I was so excited to study Public Policy and be surrounded by peers who shared my drive to better our country. The only problem was that I had no idea what policy are I wanted work in. One day I was sure I was going to work in environmental law, the next I was convinced nonprofit management was the route for me. Fast forward to today, entering senior year, and I am passionate and focused on health policy. What was the biggest factor in my shift from bouncing from policy area to policy area and then to committing to health policy? Lori’s Hands.
When I went to my first Lori’s Hands meeting the fall of my sophomore year I had no idea the effect it would have on my life. When I heard about Lori’s Hands during activities night, I was floored by what a great mission the club had and how committed the volunteers were.
In Lori’s Hands I found an organization that was doing meaningful service for some of the nicest people I’ve had the chance to meet. Doing community service is always great, but in my mind, one of the things that sets us apart from other organizations is our clients. They are incredible people who are always so interesting and fun to talk with.
After volunteering with Lori’s Hands for a semester, I became one of the Recruitment Chairs. In this role I was essentially tasked with one of my favorite things to do; talk about Lori’s Hands. The more I became involved with Lori’s Hands, the more I began to connect the dots between our clients needs and the holes in our current health and healthcare policies. Volunteering for our clients has given me great understanding of health issues at the most important level: the patients.
I spent last semester in Denmark studying public health and got the chance to learn about a healthcare system where aging in-place was the norm and all eligible patients had access to services similar to the ones that Lori’s Hands provides back here in Delaware. This got me even more excited about our work and passionate about working towards policies that would make it easier for all chronically ill patients in the United States to age in place.
I’m so excited to be back and serve as Finance Chair. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things we do this year and I know there will be a lot of them!
Written by: Emily Floros
