This week in our Fellow Feature, we sat down with current Fellows Ryan Shea and Rebecca Peñaranda. They shared their passions, motivations, and hobbies.
To learn more about Ryan and Rebecca and their Hearing Education and Resources for Underserved Populations (HEAR-UP) project click here.
Q: What drew you to leadership in service and the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellows Program?
Rebecca: I’ve always been involved in leadership. Even in high school, I was the president of my Key Club, a service leadership organization. I’ve always been really motivated to help people because that’s what my dad always taught me, to not worry about your own plate and to always make sure that others have what they need on their plate. He instilled that in me and all of my siblings.
Ryan: Similar to what Becky was saying, I grew up taking those types of leadership positions. At first, my dad would have to kind of push me into them and told me it would help me one day. And I found out he was right! Surprise! As I got older, I started taking on more of those leadership positions myself. Through high school and part of undergrad, I would go on mission trips with my church to fix up houses in the Appalachian Mountains. I’ve always tried to give back anyway that I can because I’ve been pretty fortunate in my life.
Q: How did you learn about HEAR-UP?
Rebecca: My first year, I heard about it from Rachel Fryatt, who started the program as a 2016-2017 Schweitzer Fellow. Then again when Kara and Courtney, who continued the project last year as Fellows, told us about their work. So, we’ve known about the project and that we wanted to take over to continue providing these services to underserved populations.
Ryan: When I learned about HEAR-UP, I was still in undergrad at Pitt, but Rachel was a first year graduate student in audiology. I remember seeing Rachel when she had just gotten the Schweitzer Fellowship and knew that the [HEAR-UP] program that she had been planning was actually going to happen. So, it was cool being there from the beginning and seeing how Rachael started [HEAR-UP] and how Kara and Courtney took it over. And now it’s in our hands!
Q: Why did you want to continue this project specifically?
Rebecca: We were going to continue it whether or not we were in the Fellowship! We’re so happy to be in the Fellowship, but we were definitely always going to continue [HEAR-UP] because it’s not only such a great opportunity for us to learn and serve, but also an opportunity for the patients, to provide them with the hearing that they need. We didn’t want to see it stop.
Ryan: Especially now we that we’ve seen a waiting list starting to build up, we know how important that program is. People want to come to the clinic and get these services, and to have our help and support.
Q: Prior to the completing the HEAR-UP project what are some expectations you have, and challenges you might encounter during this service project?
Ryan: We would like to expand our presence more since it’s currently just the two of us coordinating with the supervisors at these two clinics [The Squirrel Hill Health Center and Birmingham Free Clinic]. Right now there’s this waiting list building up, but there is not enough time for us to be able to do that. Hopefully, we could set up something in the future for more classmates to come in and help.
Q: What are some of your aspirations, or things you’d like to accomplish after your project is completed?
Ryan: I’d like to continue doing work with the VA. There’s a large population of the veterans that have suffered hearing loss from combat such as blasts and gunfire. Seeing the look on their faces when they are hearing their families for the first time in a while is rewarding. I would definitely like to stay involved with the Schweitzer Fellows Program after our project is done, too.
Rebecca: I want to continue to work in a hospital setting. I want to help as many people as possible, through research, the Schweitzer Fellows Program. Also our professor, Dr. Palmer, who serves as the Director of Audiology and Hearing Aids at UPMC Children’s Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is a big inspiration. She does a lot of advocacy for patient care, and I definitely want to follow in her footsteps to be an advocate for those who do not know where to begin when they have hearing loss.
-End Interview-
To support Ryan and Rebecca as they start their Pittsburgh Schweitzer journey click here.
