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Leah Tourtellotte is a graduate of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY where she studied molecular and cellular biology.  One of Leah's goals is to go on to medical school and become a pediatrician and work in underserved populations. She is serving for a year at the Drueding Center/Project Rainbow, a transitional housing program for women and their children. 

     Leah writes, my position title is “Health Liaison” at Drueding Center/Project Rainbow. My main task is maintaining the medical files of all the children we take care

of at the childcare center, which includes residents, graduates, and community members. I make sure the children are up-to-date with immunizations, physicals and dentist visits. This includes scheduling a dentist to come into the center every few months and making appointments with the nurse that comes once a week and the pediatrician that comes once a month. Another activity I facilitate is teaching a cooking/nutrition lesson to the preschool classes once a week.

I also present two health workshops for residents in their life skills series, and I accompany residents with special circumstances to their and/or their children’s medical appointments. Sometimes, as I joke with one of the teachers, I am an all-purpose worker. If the childcare center is short on teachers, I may help out with taking care of some of the children. If there are special events, I may help plan and facilitate them. Community life is funny! For me, it’s very similar to how I lived with apartment mates in college, just much more organized! Instead of spontaneous hanging out, it’s scheduled hanging out. (Although we do spontaneously hang out too!) And I must admit, my new community members are much more courteous and undoubtedly more attentive to cleaning than my college apartment mates were.

    Outside of Rainbow, the Sisters, and my med school applications, I am involved with a Catholic organization called Regnum Christi. Within the organization, there is a young women’s “team” in the Philadelphia area. We have a weekly Bible study and fellowship kind of meeting, which has helped me immensely in staying connected with God and other young people!

     Of her reason to engage in a year of service, Leah says, "I wanted to join RMC because it fit so perfectly with everything I wish to accomplish. RMC offered me the chance to mix my desire to serve others with my goals of becoming a doctor. I hope to gain some medical experience and I am confident that my ministry will be useful and fulfilling for me. And since I get to work with kids, I think it will be fun and interesting! I hope that RMC will help me strengthen my faith and introduce me to wonderful people."

Leah with her extended family after the Missioning Ceremony

 

 

Angelus Community:  Sr. Kathleen, Leah, Sr. Janet, Sr. Ana