TIP Tuesday: Arathzy Portillo

What school do you go to?
I go to West Adams Preparatory High School.

Where do you intern?
I work at Kaiser Permanente in the  Pediatrics Department. Usually, I interact with patients, read to babies, and play with the kids. I love kids, so this position is really great.
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Do you want to be a pediatrician?
I don't want to be a doctor, but I am very interested in interacting with patients - especially kids. I am not sure what I want to do, but one of my supervisors is a child specialist, which I'm interested in. These are the people who spend time with the kids 18 years old and below, and they make sure everything is okay, talk with the parents, keep kids comfortable during procedures, and spend time with the kids. I just learned about this job, and I'm really happy that I did because it really put me out there and made me think that maybe this is something that I want to do in the future.
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​What is your favorite task at work? 
So far, I think one of my favorite things is reading to the babies, especially for those that don’t have parents or have busy parents because the babies are so isolated, so it is nice to be there for them. 

What do you think is the most valuable thing you've learned so far?
It is important to love what you are doing. You have to be passionate about what you're doing and passionate about your dreams - don't just do stuff just to do your job.

You have to be passionate about what you're doing and passionate about your dreams

How has this internship shaped what you want to do in the future?
​Without it, I don’t know what I would've done this summer. Without it, I wouldn’t be exposed to the healthcare field. I would probably just be at home sitting around. I know I want to be involved in the healthcare field, but I didn't know what types of jobs there are. I was blindfolded. But now that I've been exposed to the work at Kaiser, a huge company, I'm able to gain a bunch of experiences and figure out what I want to do.

If you could give a future TIP intern advice, what would it be?
Make sure to take advantage of all of the opportunities that you are given. You should join any organization or program that can help you follow your dreams. And of course, I think it’s just really important to enjoy what you're doing.
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