Community Corner
Whiz Kid: Kelly Marra Learns TLC At Creve Coeur Hospital
MICDS senior Kelly Marra likes working with children and is thinking of a nursing career. The TLC program at St. John's Mercy is gives her a good look into the medical field.
Each week, Creve Coeur Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week to highlight.
This Week's Whiz Kid: Kelly Marra
Age: 17
Find out what's happening in Creve Coeurwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
School: MICDS
Key To Awesomeness: Kelly Marra has discovered she loves volunteering around St. Louis because it widens her horizons. She thinks she might like to go into nursing, and is currently in a program at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. There, with other teens, she volunteers and learns about medical occupations.
Find out what's happening in Creve Coeurwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Marra, an MICDS senior, has volunteered with operation Food Search and Beyond Housing. She said she really liked the Operation Food Search because she enjoyed the interaction with those she helped.
“I just like the feeling of afterwards, it just gives me a different perspective on, even St. Louis in general,” she said.
She had been thinking of volunteering at St. John’s, and checked out the possibilities in January, when she found out about the TLC program. TLC stands for Teens Learning in the Community. It’s the program’s first year, and combines volunteering with learning about different professions within a hospital. Over 40 area high schoolers wanted to participate but only 24 made it in.
Marra said she likes working with kids. “It makes me see everything in a different perspective...I felt like I was making a difference,” she said, when she saw how she could help sick children have some fun playing Bingo.
She also worked in pediatrics, moved patients around the hospital, worked in the GI lab (Gastrointestinal Laboratory) and when patients came into intensive care she made sure they were comfortable and all their cords were attached.
Marra said she likes the difference she can make, and the difference she sees in herself as well. She earns no school volunteer hours; it’s totally in her summer free time.
“Before I did this, I didn’t even know...” she said. “It broadened my horizons, it let me see what else is going on, how I could help, and how it could change me as a person, as well.”