AU Health opens Spring 2024 VolunJags interest forms

VolunJags at a facilities tour. (photo courtesy of Shayna Crawford)

Clara Sorrow | Managing editor

Spring Registration for the VolunJags program, hosted by the Office of Volunteer Services and Community Engagement, is now open.

The program serves to provide college students with opportunities to volunteer with the local hospitals, allowing for students to gain professional development skills and proficiency in a medical setting.

A decade into effect, this program is now much more than a volunteer opportunity. For many students, choosing the right pathway is no easy feat. It is even more difficult trying to get into a position of exploring different healthcare careers.

Most students do not begin looking for career exploration opportunities until their last few years of their undergraduate programs. By then, many students find themselves having to make quick decisions that ultimately don’t fit their passions or skill sets.

Shayna Crawford, a volunteer engagement coordinator, said it’s important that students know of these opportunities.

“We wanted to dispel the fear that students are alone on their journeys or that they couldn’t start earlier,” Crawford stated.

The program also adds flexibility for those facing tough academic schedules. Applications and participation for the program is based on a semesterly schedule to accommodate for students who commute but still wish to participate. This is also perfect for transfer students.

“We have students from all over the region come and volunteer with AU Health. The program allows them to serve side-by-side with medical professionals in a real-time setting,” Crawford explained.

The requirements to take part in this opportunity are also incredibly accommodating. With the minimum age for participation at 17, the other requirements are simple: the student must be able to volunteer at least four hours a week, must have a plan to attend college during the applicable semesters and must be able to attend for the two semesters of that school year.

The goal of this program is simple: to give students the chance to support AU Health in its mission of providing compassionate care to patients and families. In doing so, students learn what it takes to become premier healthcare professionals whether “world-renowned or well-rounded,” as Crawford described.

Contact Clara Sorrow at csorrow@augusta.edu.

This story is published in the Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 print edition of The Bell Ringer on page 4.