In October, 2020, we were so thankful to welcome Eimi Percival as our very first AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer!

Here's what Eimi had to share about her decision to work with us:  

I decided to become a VISTA because it allows me to remain in a strategic and flexible role, exposing me to the more hidden and critical sides of both health care and nonprofit organizations in the position of a staff member. This will be an opportunity to observe far more closely to all of the inner workings of a clinic. As an aspiring physician scientist, such an opportunity is far more valuable than gold.

My college major was chemistry with one concentration in health professions and the other in professional industrial chemistry (my college allowed multiple concentrations). In chorus with what I have mentioned above, my hope is to work in healthcare as a physician scientist researching diseases and bringing quality care to those in areas where health care accessibility is still relatively low.

BCHC was available through AmeriCorps under the title of the IAFCC which had already begun to attract my attention. AmeriCorps VISTA was recommended to me by a fellow college alumni. And as a recent graduate from a christian college, I was also interested in dipping my toes in the pool of Christ centered health care. 

My role focuses on capacity building and overall help support everyone working tirelessly in the clinic. During this year, I want to test myself, put my brain under a microscope and really prod through on whether or not it is ready to consistently give from a place of compassion and care for the well-being of others. The realm of medicine requires more than just memorizing terminology and understanding systems, though they are rightfully important. Science and medicine are fun by their own right but being able to use them to help people is where the true magic is.

n terms of hobbies, I easily get absorbed into practically anything. But categorically, I'm interested in anything with music, words, food, or colors. 

Fun fact: I do better with a compass and a map than with a literal GPS.

As for the notorious "from" question, it has always been tough to answer!  But in summary, I'm a half Trinidadian and half Japanese; I immigrated to the US from Japan, lived briefly in Canada, but spent most of my time in the US all over the east coast (NYC, Boston, D.C., and Atlanta). My most recent "from" is Georgia!"

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#IllinoisAssociationofFreeandCharitableClinics

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