Super Kid: Sarah Waddell, Glacier Peak High School

Published 8:21 pm Sunday, February 5, 2012

Q: What is your day like?

A: I enjoy working out occasionally in the mornings. I go to ASB meetings. I am the senior representative for the Wesco (athletic league) region. After school, I work as a lifeguard at the West Coast Aquatic Center in Mill Creek.

On Fridays, I volunteer at Providence Regional Medical Center. I have worked there for three years, and I enjoy meeting people and learning about the system. I am also a registered EMR (emergency medical responder). And I’m preparing to do a mission in Costa Rica.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: I hope to attend the Azusa Pacific University. It’s a large Christian university in California where I want to get a nursing degree. They have a big African mission program, and I want to go there so I can do mission work. Eventually, I’d like to go to South Africa and live there.

Q: Why are you interested in pursuing a career in health?

A: My best friend fueled my fire to take (emergency response) classes. I wanted to be more aware. She got into a car accident when she was following me in her car and her blood-sugar was low. It was a small accident, but it made an impact on me. It really confirmed that I want to help people. I wanted not to be so helpless like I was there.

Q: Why nursing? Why not become a doctor?

A: The patient interacts more with a nurse than with a doctor. Becoming a doctor is a future goal, but I want to get to South Africa as fast as I can and be as effective as possible. I can do that with nursing.

Q: What do you do as a volunteer at Providence?

A: I have been working in the ER since September to learn its computer system and help out with the patients. I do patient rounds to see if they need anything. I’m kind of their handyman. I’m a very studious worker. I can’t work there until I turn 18, but I hope I can work there when I do.

Q: Can you tell me more about your missionary work?

A: I always had a passion for it. I have done hospice work for the terminally ill and worked in an orphanage. I have done work in Costa Rica for the past five years.

Q: What have you learned in the mission work?

A: A lot of Spanish. It’s amazing how humbling the experience is. From the brown rivers to the town shacks, people still believe in God and are so happy with what they have.

Q: What do you do for fun?

A: I have organized the homecoming dances since the school was open and that has been really fun. I always look forward to it. I used to love riding horses. I don’t own a horse now, but it has been a passion of mine.

Q: What is your inspiration?

A: My father is a first mate on a fishing boat in Alaska. I want to make him proud because this (getting a medical degree and doing mission work) was his dream, and I’m living it for him. I am doing this because I want to. He’s my hero.

Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.