At 8 a.m. on Sunday mornings, a lot of high schoolers would be happy to sleep in.

But 16-year-old Bishop LeBlond High School sophomore Kaylea Ford is busy volunteering at Heartland Regional Medical Center, working in several departments and preparing for a future in medicine.

“I want to be a pediatrician and I really like working with them (children),” Kaylea says. “I just really like kids.”

Kaylea started volunteering at Heartland in May 2007. During the school year, she volunteers from 8 to 10 a.m. every Sunday morning and puts in more hours during summer break. Through her time, she’s worked with babies and in the Pediatric Unit. She currently works in the I.C.U. and will start voluteering in the E.R. this summer. Even though she would rather be “working where they bring life in,” she values caring for those in dire need.

“It’s nice to try to help people live and not just let ‘em go,” she says.

Jackie Runyan, HRMC Youth Volunteer Coordinator, says Kaylea is focused for her age and stays busy, which would be a grand understatement if you count her Heartland volunteer work with her class schedule, cross country, cheerleading, soccer, baby-sitting and a part-time job at Hy-Vee.

“Working with people is a lot of fun. I don’t like being by myself,” Kaylea says. “It’s boring to not have anything to do.”

But youth volunteers, like Kaylea, are aware of the benefits of their volunteerism.

“They know that that’s the right thing to do,” Ms. Runyan says. “They know it is going to be beneficial to them in the end.”

But unlike other volunteers, Kaylea was recently awarded with the Violet Richardson award by the Soroptimist Club of St. Joseph for her volunteer work in the HRMC’s Pediatric Unit. She received $150, which she has given to pediatrics. When she thinks back on what made her stand out, she mentions a part of her essay and an observation her sister made.

“I think the one thing that they liked,” Kaylea says, “...was when my sister diagnosed me with helpy helper syndrome.”

Lifestyles reporter Blake Hannon can be reached at blakehannon@npgco.com