Taylor Collard ‘24 (back right) and fellow TRIPS program participants hosted a St. Patrick‘s Day party for patients at LeBonheur Children‘s Hospital during the group‘s service trip in March 2024.

Cancer Survivor Co-Leads Service Trip to Tennessee Children’s Hospital

Last fall, Taylor Collard ’24 stepped on stage for her SNCTalk, “How Positive Deviance Kept Me Positively Alive,” and told the St. Norbert College community about something that touches many lives in some way, shape or form: cancer.
 
She talked about her journey with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow), the impact of “positive deviance,” and how she persevered through treatment and a double hip replacement to begin a virtual college career in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
 
“To stand on the stage was definitely scary at first, but I really wanted to share my journey of going through cancer treatment at a young age because I feel that it’s a subject people tend to avoid,” Collard says. “I wanted to share what it was like for me to go through this.”
 
Now, almost four years later, she co-led a service trip through the TRIPS program to Memphis to host special events for kids at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital.
 
Sparking joy for the kids
After traveling and serving on this trip in March 2023, Collard said she was excited to co-lead this next go-around with Mckenzie Van Beek ’24 (pictured above, front row, second from left) in March 2024. Eight other students joined them for the 11-hour drive to Tennessee. 
 
Trip participants helped host special events for children undergoing medical treatment at LeBonheur, spent time with kids to support them and their families, and assisted the hospital with other tasks. Most of the week, the students were Unit Buddies, or volunteers who stop in patient rooms to offer conversation, playtime, or anything else patients and their families may need. In these types of medical situations, there are a number of family members who are not able to visit patients or can only be there during certain hours.
 
“One of the days we spent our morning providing the beverage cart to all patients and staff, walking the floor to offer donuts, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, apple cider — and LeBonheur Specials, hot chocolate made with coffee,” Collard shares. “You easily saw the impact you had with a seemingly small thing.”
 
On another day, the group put together a St. Patrick’s Day party in the hospital where all patients were welcome to attend. Participants dressed up, put on temporary tattoos and headbands, and enjoyed fun activities.
 
“That was so much fun,” Collard says. “These parties are a great opportunity for patients to leave their rooms, see other people and engage with them, and gain a sense of normalcy back.”
 
Collard’s fondest memory was when she was a Unit Buddy for a specific young patient who was barely old enough to walk but was incredibly lively and energetic. She recalls how happy he was to have a friend in his room.
 
“Being a buddy there was really special because it reminded me that the power of presence can sometimes be enough,” Collard says. “To have someone with you while you are going through something so difficult can be so healing and helpful, and everyone deserves someone to be there for them.”
 
Widening perspectives
As a two-time TRIPS participant, Collard eagerly recommends the program to other students on campus. She says it’s not only a way to serve others and make new, lasting friendships, but also a way to learn about a world outside college.
 
“It really widens your worldview,” she explains. “You can learn more about social justice issues that may not affect you personally but are affecting so many others.”
 
The group was also able to visit the National Civil Rights Museum.
 
“I had gone last year and begged to go again because the information learned here is so vital and important to our nation’s history and the work we do moving forward,” she says. “It’s also a good way to remember our own privilege and that we don’t see the world the same as others might.”
 
Every night, students would also do a reflection to help review the day and think more in depth about why they were there.
 
“The whole experience was great, and I had so much fun with my group while providing such an important week of service,” she says.

Next step: Child life specialist
Healthy and in remission, Collard’s postgrad plans will continue to keep her in the medical arena. The next step in her career will be working in a hospital as a child life specialist, continuing to support those who are in a medical situation much like the one she found herself in just six years ago.
 
Child life specialists work with nurses and doctors to help provide emotional and therapeutic support to patients during treatments, appointments and longer hospital stays. 
 
“These people were so important because they were a person in the hospital who was not giving me tests, poking or prodding me, or ever there to give me bad news,” she says.
 
Collard says her own child life specialists helped her be positive, chatted with her about normal teenager and young adult things — like her love for all things Taylor Swift — and supported her younger brother and parents, too. These specialists also assist with coping strategies and tips to get through treatments and help explain some of the more confusing medical information. While nurses and doctors are important for treatment, they don’t always have the time or luxury to sit with patients or their families as they process a diagnosis or treatment plans.
 
“Volunteering at LeBonheur gave me more insight into what it’s like to be a child life specialist,” Collard says. “I saw how a hospital functions, felt what it was like to be on your feet all day, and learned about the incredible resilience that the patients have.”

May 30, 2024