T.E.A.C.H. Volunteer Spotlight : Jared Shless

Armed with compassion, technical ability, and a true willingness to help children, we are proud to shine a Volunteer Spotlight on Jared Shless, The TEACH UC Berkeley President. Having jumped on board with TEACH during early 2019, UC Berkeley is TEACH’s first West Coast location in the US. TEACH UC Berkeley has recently expanded its volunteer base and plans to bring even more smiles to children at three local pediatric hospitals.

(1)What made you want to volunteer for  the TEACH program?

I wanted to volunteer for TEACH because I simply love working with children, and I also want to go into medicine. To me, working with TEACH was a lovely combination of these two things I love to do/want to do in my future.

(2)What are your expectations for volunteering for TEACH?

I only have one expectation: to make someone else’s day better, even if it’s through what may seem like a small or short interaction. Many of the children we work with have limited social interaction outside of those they have with medical staff. So, there’s a lot of potential for us, as TEACH volunteers, to help the patients feel like kids again, and even distract them from the realities of being hospitalized.

(3)Has your experience at UC Berkeley helped you in any way to become the TEACH UC Berkeley President?

I started off as the president and founder of the Berkeley branch, so I don’t have much to say about rising through the ranks, so to speak, to become the president. I think the one thing I can say is that Cal didn’t seem to have a program like this. So, it only felt right for me to start a TEACH branch.

(4)What are your goals for the TEACH program at UC Berkeley and how/when do you plan to reach them?

Right now, things are still moving quite slowly for us. However, my team and I wish to continue strengthening our relationships with the hospitals we work with. We recently expanded our executive board, and we have around 12 volunteers. Right now, I am working on having us expand to Summit, which is an extension of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland (BCHO). By the end of the year, we hope to be well-established in all of the 3 locations we work with, having volunteers visit these hospitals on a weekly basis. Right now, we have volunteers placed in only one of our 3 hospitals due to onboarding issues, but we’re making lots of progress and things are going swimmingly!

(5)Has your experience as a Pharmacy Technician and EMT helped you in dealing with patients?

My experiences as a pharmacy technician and EMT student were quite different (and almost unrelated!) to the experiences I have with the children through TEACH. I took my EMT class in Kansas City, and the training was very hands-on and almost atypical of some programs in California. I had a lot of chances to work in the field and work with patients in the trauma room (including losing a patient, which was very, very sad for me). Of course, the things we do as TEACH volunteers are not clinical. We aren’t doctors, nurses, etc. In a way, we are really companions to the children we work with. However, these jobs have really helped me to understand the value of life and what it means to serve other people who are most likely at one of the lowest points in their lives. Doing a science experiment with a child may not seem as important as resuscitating a dying patient, but hey, it can sure make it easier for them to get through another day of treatment.

(6)Are you able to utilize your background in suicide prevention and mental health while volunteering with TEACH patients? If so, how?

With a lot of things I do today, I really look to my experience as a peer counselor on a crisis line and being a council member for the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA).  Of course, these jobs were often very unpredictable, challenging, and even uncomfortable. But it really helped me grow as someone who loves working with and supporting other people in-need. I really gained a lot of comfort and confidence in communicating with and supporting all kinds of individuals…this makes me feel well equipped to be a good listener, think on my feet, and navigate the very personal and sometimes emotional conversations that arise in the setting of a children’s hospital.

(7)What do you love most about being TEACH UC Berkeley President?

Working with the children, of course. I can’t say that I love being on the administrative side of things; sending emails, attending orientations, and putting together supply crates isn’t always fun. But at the end of the day, seeing a smile on the kids’ faces helps me realize the importance of what TEACH volunteers do. We truly do make a difference in these kids’ lives, even if it’s hard to see.