Saint Michael’s Medical Center Volunteers Pooja and Rohit Datir.
By the time she was in seventh grade, Pooja Datir’s teachers ran out of grade-level material to give her. Her teachers suggested she start taking college courses.
Her brother Rohit maxed out in fifth grade and also started taking college courses.
Both graduated high school in three years while simultaneously earning five associate’s degrees from the community college near their home in California.
Today, the remarkable students are enrolled at the New Jersey Institute of Technology as freshman biology majors and hope to attend medical school after graduation.
When they aren’t studying, they’re volunteering at Saint Michael’s Medical Center, which is located across the street from NJIT’s Newark campus.
“Being a doctor is a people profession,” Pooja said. “You have to be able to understand how to interact with people, how to hear patients, how to make them feel comfortable and that sort of experience and knowledge doesn’t come from books. It comes from hands-on experience. That’s why the experience at Saint Michael’s is so valuable and irreplaceable.”
Saint Michael’s, a member of Prime Healthcare, recently restarted its volunteer program after putting it on pause during the pandemic.
“The volunteer program is a real opportunity for us to open our doors and get the extra help that we needed, but also to give our youngsters and our volunteers an opportunity to learn and grow in the healthcare industry,” said Sarah Crespo, regional patient experience director for Prime Healthcare’s New Jersey hospitals.
“We are a family here. We’re always welcoming new talent,” Crespo said. “We want to pay it forward.”
Crespo said the hospital is always looking for volunteers who want an opportunity to work in a teaching hospital. Saint Michael’s is affiliated with New York Medical College and offers internal medicine residencies as well as advanced fellowships.
“We look for volunteers with a positive attitude who want to learn, who want to make the world a better place and who want to contribute to the work that we’re doing here,” Crespo said.
Both Pooja, 16, and Rohit, 15, volunteer in Saint Michael’s Primary and Specialty Care Center under the tutelage of Dr. Jugeet Kanwal. The Primary Care Center provides adult patients with annual checkups, preventative screenings, medical treatments for common illnesses and immunizations. In addition, the Center provides a full spectrum of sub-specialties, including asthma, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, podiatry/wound care, surgery and neurology.
Rohit said his experience as a volunteer at Saint Michael’s has provided him with a deeper insight into his major.
“I can see all the different lessons I’m learning in my major how they’re applied to the outside world,” he said. “We’re currently learning about viruses in biology courses and seeing the different things that happen with viruses in patients in real life. That allows me to connect my education to the real world.”
The siblings, who grew up in Southern California, are nearly 3,000 miles away from their parents, but are adjusting to college life in Newark. Pooja said she and her brother support each other and they frequently check in with their parents on video calls.
“We’re like each other’s rock. We make sure that if one of us feels down the other one is always there to help motivate and support us,” Pooja said. “Being away from home and family has definitely been a challenge in many ways, but the amazing opportunities and experiences we get at NJIT and Saint Michaels has just been irreplaceable.\
Interested in volunteering? Learn more on our volunteer page.