College students have been volunteering at the hospice for over a decade
In their two years at the College our students are continuously exposed to new experiences and challenges: settling down and making friends in a truly multicultural environment, becoming familiar with a completely different educational system in a language different than one’s own, and also realizing that the CAS activities they commit to are an integral part of their educational experience and personal growth – particularly their social service. And none is more transformative than the social service at the local hospice Casa di cura Pineta del Carso in Duino-Aurisina, where College students have been volunteering for over ten years.
Students are trained before they start the service, as they are often unfamiliar with the emotional and relational needs of terminally ill patients who are receiving palliative care medical treatment. What this experience involves for both patients and student volunteers has been the subject of an interview in a local tv programme with Roberta Vecchi – President of the association Amici dell’Hospice Pineta Onlus – and a College teacher who supervises this service, Magda Michalska, a UWC Adriatic alumna herself. Drawing on her own personal experience as a hospice volunteer, Magda explained the important emotional connections that students build with the patients, even overcoming language barriers.
What about the impact of the pandemic? «Clearly, the service has had to adapt» Roberta explains. «We have had to find new ways of interacting but the ties that bind us together have been preserved and we continue to make future plans together». March will be the month of palliative care and the association is planning multiple activities, including one with the College. Student volunteers will work on a video about expressing one’s emotions. «Discovering what a hospice is at the age of 16 is emotionally challenging» Magda explains. «That is an age in which you feel immortal, so establishing a rapport with terminally ill patients is a truly transformational experience».
