Hannah Sy is a second-year student at McGill, and the Personnel Coordinator of McGill’s student-run volunteer first aid team M-SERT. M-SERT volunteers respond to emergency medical situations on-campus and in the McGill community. Everyone on the team, including Hannah, is trained to the level of First Responder, a certification issued by the Canadian Red Cross. You can find her and the rest of the team every night from 6PM to 6AM in Royal Victoria College and Molson Hall. They also respond from their office in SSMU on weekdays from 10AM to 5PM. As Personnel Coordinator, Hannah works with the Director of Personnel to schedule responders for shifts.
Hannah had decided on working with M-SERT even before she started at McGill. “When I came to visit for an open house in the fall of my senior year in high school, M-SERT had a table set up, so I talked to the responders about what they do. That was when I decided it was something I’d be interested in, and so I applied as soon as I could in first year,” Hannah says. She describes the experience so far as having been “incredible,” citing the amount of things she’s learned as well as the people she’s met and the patients she’s helped.
For Hannah, the most rewarding part about being on M-SERT has been the friends she’s made as part of the team. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find another group that’s as compassionate, kind, and dependable as they [the team] are. I joined in my first year at McGill, so most of my friendships have actually resulted from being part of M-SERT,” she says. Of course, being in a position of such responsibility has its challenges as well, most notably the time commitment. Besides working long hours, they also get a lot of requests for non-regular shifts during big McGill events, so it takes up a significant amount of time. However, Hannah puts this challenge into perspective. “The moment that someone needs help and I can do something about it, that all becomes irrelevant, and I feel really glad to have been on the shift.” The rewarding experiences of being on M-SERT definitely outweigh the challenges of having to sacrifice so much time for Hannah.
Hannah is only in second year, and still has a couple more years to go as part of the team. She encourages more people to look into becoming more involved with the team as well. “We recruit every fall around September, and all you need to apply is a Standard First Aid certification, or an equivalent. The recruitment process is challenging, but it really makes a difference when you give it your best and show enthusiasm! We test first aid skills, but also value qualities such as empathy and good patient care just as much.”
As for Hannah, she hopes that her experience in the medical field doesn’t end here. “I plan on applying to medical school in the next couple years, so we’ll see where that takes me. Hopefully it works out because I haven’t entertained the idea of a plan B…but I’ve got big dreams and every day I work towards them.”
M-SERT has surely given Hannah the tools she needs to make her dreams possible. Given that it’s been such an integral part of her McGill experience, it’s no wonder she describes her time at McGill as “wonderful,” adding “I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”
Images provided by interviewee.