Brooke Olson, a senior at Pekin Community High School, is spending part of her summer earning volunteer hours at Methodist College. Brooke's mother, Patience Olson, is a Simulation Assistant in the college's Simulation Center, where Brooke has been lending a hand. 
Along with earning volunteer hours for the National Honor Society, Brooke is hopeful that her time volunteering will help her applications stand out as she begins her college search later this summer. While Brooke plans to major in mechanical engineering with a minor in business, volunteering at a healthcare college was a natural fit as she has family members who work in healthcare as medical assistants or nurses.
As part of her volunteer time at the college, Brooke has helped in the simulation center by setting up rooms for classes, setting up an apartment for a home health simulation exercise, cleaning tables, and clerical tasks such as making copies and performing data entry. She also assisted in the library with cataloging books.
With her interest in engineering, Brooke has been impressed with the technology in the simulation center, such as the high-fidelity manikins. "It is impressive with all of the technologies that they use to create a realistic experience for the nursing students," said Brooke. "This way the students can practice and learn with the manikins before they work with real patients."
A highly motivated student, Brooke will have a busy senior year by taking Advanced Placement Physics and Statistics, a third year of German, band, and physical education.
Methodist College is a private, not-for-profit college offering academic programs in healthcare and human services.