Volunteering and Job opportunities
It is very important to continue to either work or volunteer during your college career. First, you must gain experience in your field, whether it is medical or veterinary. This way you know what you like, what you are good at, and what you want to do after undergrad. Second, balancing school and extracurricular activities looks good, like clubs, sports, etc. Admission committees love this. If you never leave your room except for class and do really well grade-wise, it doesn't look as good as getting good grades and working, sports, other. Lastly, as an individual you become a better person, giving back to the community or working in some way which helps others. So what opportunities are there? Lots!
Check out the NEW Volunteer Opportunities in the Worcester Area Database!
Jump to:General opportunities
Veterinary opportunities
Medical opportunities
Laboratory opportunities
General opportunities
Red Cross - "The American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts utilizes volunteers in every program and department within the chapter. Ranging from direct service volunteers in five programs, including Disaster Services and Community Health Education, to guiding the chapter's direction in leadership roles as members of the board of directors, volunteers are involved at all levels of a Red Cross chapter." This chapter is a short walk from the WPI campus down Highland St. Check out their website for more details: http://www.redcrossblood.org/locations/worcester
The EcoTarium - Located about 10 minutes away from the WPI campus, the EcoTarium provides many volunteering, internship, and paid positions at the nature center. The EcoTarium provides habitats for several endangered species and many exhibits on different ecosystems. They are a non-profit organization, which relies heavily on donations and volunteers. The place is pretty neat to just visit. For more information visit: www.ecotarium.org
Worcester Food Bank - The Worcester County Food Bank collects, inspects, maintains, and distributes food to help feed hungry people living throughout all 72 cities and towns in Central Massachusetts. The Worcester County Food Bank needs volunteers who can donate two to four hours of their time at least once a week, or twice a month on a consistent basis, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. They are located on route 9 down by Borders. Visit their site for more information: The Worcester County Food Bank needs volunteers who can donate two to four hours of their time at least once a week, or twice a month on a consistent basis, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Visit their website for more information: www.foodbank.org/ways_to_help/volunteer.html
Family Advocates of Central Mass - is looking for college students to work with attorneys and doctors who are collaborating on a new project that brings together medical and legal advocates to provide holistic care to low-income children and their families. Family Advocates will be starting a help desk at UMass Memorial in Worcester where patients can seek legal advice about housing, benefit, family law, and other issues, and get necessary referrals to social service agencies. They are looking for several college students to start and staff the help desk, prepare legal resource materials and training for volunteers, and to provide advice to patients about available legal and social services. To apply, send resume and brief writing sample to Family Advocates of Central Massachusetts, Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, 405 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608. For more information, please contact Rebecca Kislak or Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham at 508-752-3718 or rkislak@laccm.org
Hoop dreams - Hoop dreams is a program on campus from 4-6 Tuesdays. About 25 kids from the friendly house (a free after school program for Worcester kids) come to wpi, we spend the first hour in alumni gym doing some type of physical activity and then second hour usually in HL116 doing homework.
Other ideas -
Veterinary opportunities
Animal Clinics - If you're pre-vet, work or volunteer for a vet or in some veterinary setting. Veterinary schools love this, some even require it! There are a number of vets in town. Get the yellow pages and start looking around.
Worcester Animal Rescue League - Worcester Animal Rescue League needs help. The dogs there are starving for attention and you to walk/run them. The cats are timid and need socialization. If you are going to go and want to adopt everything, it’s not for you. Monday-Friday from 10am-2pm (just drop-in, no prior plans required) and help them walk dogs, play with cats, etc. Info on website regarding directions and details. http://www.worcester-arl.org/ (508) 853-0030
Tufts Vet School Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - This spring, Tufts in Grafton invites college students to volunteer in the large animal hospital NICU. You basically sign up for 6-hour shifts and are on watch in the large animal hospital. You may be assigned to a certain mother/child pair, or just do rounds, checking in on each stall. Great experience, especially if you like large animals, mostly horses, though I did take care of a zebra once. When I get the info about it, I'll be sure to email medvetnews, though it doesn't start until February sometime.
Heifer Project - Another volunteering opportunity that’s always available is the Heifer Project. It’s the place that raises animals and ships them to 3rd world countries. Chores are everyday at 5 am and 5 pm. Just show up and feed some farm animals, milk some cows and goats, walk a few llamas. http://www.heifer.org/
Medical opportunities
Med schools like extracurricular activities - especially those reflecting public or health-related service, volunteer work, and other evidence of your initiative. Letters of recommendation from undergraduate health professions advisors and faculty members as well as physicians and other members of the health professions, community leaders, and other individuals who have employed you or supervised your volunteer experience
These may be a little harder to find, but definitely available. Try hospitals, sometimes called candy stripers, are available in Worcester area hospitals. While this is good practice to know what it feels like in a medical setting, you won’t learn much about medicine. But, you definitely have to get some kind of exposure to clinical medicine, either by shadowing a doctor, working in a hospice, taking care of elderly or handicapped persons,
or other such contact. It is much more rewarding (and exciting) to find other clinical opportunities such as hospices, AIDS clinics, rehabilitation wards, or nursing homes. St. Vincent’s in Worcester has several volunteering opportunities as well. Contact: Nancy Pedersen-Gac 508-363-9340 nancy.pedersengac@tenethealth.com for more information.
Laboratory opportunities
Lab experience is extremely beneficial. By working closely with a professor or scientists, get great letter of recommendation. Schools like “cutting edge” students, even vet school. Many medical/vet schools are beginning to expand with labs. WPI students have been known to be very capable of this due to the required course work for majors.
If you wish to work on campus in a lab, simply as a professor you know who has a lab. If there are openings, or you have work-study, they usually oblige. CDC is helpful with this area. You need to get your resume and things together for this. They list a lot of bio opportunities, career fair usually has a few biotech companies too. Prof. Dave Adams keeps a list of job openings he hears about too.
If you are interested in Summer Internships check in the BB department for information or look at the bulletin boards for summer internships on the second floor of Salisbury Labs (in hallway going toward computer lab).
Most important about all of this: pick something you want to do. Don’t do it just for your application – do it because you want to do it.
For more information email msdofficers@wpi.edu.
