Volunteering to affirm a career path

In America, volunteering is mostly favored by members of the older generations. Retirees often enjoy it as a change of pace from their lifelong careers. However, for Josh Sesay, volunteer opportunities are a key to shaping his future.

Sesay, 22, started volunteering at St. Luke’s Hospital as an emergency department triage volunteer in 2018, when he was a senior at Jefferson High School in Cedar Rapids. It came after a placement at the Hiawatha Care Center, through the Workplace Learning Connection.

At the time, he was interested in the medical field, but he wanted a way to try it out before dedicating his life to it.

“I wanted to build experience, see what I wanted to do, and what I’d really enjoy,” he said.

Since his first day at St. Luke’s, he has shown unstoppable work ethic and energy.

As a member of Emergency Room Triage, his responsibilities included directing guests to their rooms and assisting the registration specialist as needed. Then he became a Wayfinder, escorting patients and guests around the building for appointments and exercise. Once the Emergency Department Patient Ambassador role became available, Sesay was first in line.

Patient Ambassadors serve as an additional touchpoint for patients and visitors, ensuring that their needs are communicated effectively to the staff at the hospital. He said that sometimes, being present as a caring volunteer encourages individuals to really open up.

“When you put on a uniform like a doctor or a nurse, sometimes (the patients) are scared,” he said. “When I go in, they’re so comfortable with me that some of them tell me things about their condition that they won’t tell a doctor. Then we talk about how to share that with the staff.”

Around St. Luke’s, he’s known as a trustworthy, reliable and capable volunteer.

“Josh is a prime example of what makes a great volunteer. Josh goes above and beyond to make sure that patients feel listened to and taken care of,” according to his 2022 nomination for a Governor’s Volunteer Award.

“It’s a good way to value your time,” Sesay said, “because you help to change lives.”

Beyond the social good, Sesay finds his own unique rewards in volunteering.

“It helps me build connections. I want to become a medical doctor, so I always have conversations with the doctors and nurses when we have down time. It also helps with my communications skills,” he said.

Sesay’s family emigrated from Sierra Leone in Western Africa in 2016.

“We do speak English in Sierra Leone, but I want to learn more about the American culture and how you communicate,” he said. “The more I speak with Americans, the more I construct my English better.”

Sesay was honored with a Governor’s Volunteer Award in 2022 for his efforts.

“I met Kim Reynolds there,” Sesay said. “Volunteering let me meet a respectable figure like that. If I was just at home, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.”

His commitment to volunteering has led to other opportunities, as well. First, a hospital staff member approached him and offered to hire him as a valet attendant. He continued to volunteer inside the hospital while working in the parking lot, and he eventually landed a job as a registration specialist — one of the staff members he would assist as a volunteer. Despite achieving his goal of working in the medical field, he actually continued to commit time off the clock as a volunteer.

“I would work Monday through Friday, then on Saturday I’d come in as a volunteer. Even the nurses, they got to know me. They’d say, ‘You’re here every day!’ and I’d say, ‘It’s my day off, what do you want me to do, stay home?’”

Sesay now is studying in the biomedical and public health major tracks while minoring in chemistry at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He’s transferred his role as a registration specialist to Allen Hospital, UnityPoint’s campus in Waterloo, but he said as soon as he’s settled, he wants to ask how he can volunteer there as well.

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