Blog #1- Pre-Project
My name is Chelsea Liu and in the summer of my junior year, I began my integrated service learning project where I learned more about music therapy. I also have experience playing the cello in ensembles and youth orchestras so I decided I would apply what I learned to service. For my Hawken project, I will be continuing music therapy throughout assisted living facilities. I'm also interested in the healthcare field and I want to learn more about the experiences of employees and nurses in the homes as it's something I've wanted to be involved in myself. Throughout this experience, I hope to learn more on how to engage with patients in the healthcare field, especially patients experiencing mental illness. I will be working with Jamie Park, who plays the upright bass. We will be travel to all of the assisted living facilities that are connected to Serenity Hospice in Stow, Ohio. Some examples of these locations are the Avenue at Lyndhurst and Maplewood at Twinsburg. The hours of volunteering will usually fall between 11AM and 2PM and before then, we rehearse our performances and find our music selection. In addition, after 2PM, we will review our performances and note the difficulties in our duet pieces so that we can work on them in the future. Beyond just performances, Jamie and I will also help in other activities at the assisted living facilities. These activities can include talking with Serenity Hospice patients, helping during trivia, and playing bingo with the patients. I'm incredibly excited to improve my playing skills and also get to know all the patients!
This is one of the most interesting blends of music, health care and volunteering I've seen. No doubt, there will be many takeaways and I am excited to hear them!
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