Northwest Vista student Adam Ramirez is working to make the world abetter for cancer patients.
Ramirez, an LVN and part-time student at Northwest Vista, got together with fellow classmates Katrina Lopez, Tanner Greven and Genesis Ramiro on a project aimed at making the world a better place. The group has been tasked by NVC Professor Dr. Don Lucas with creating and executing a project that will essentially make people happy.
Lucas, is hoping to take students outside of the classroom and into the communities. “The Create The World a Better Place” assignment is all about giving students opportunities to define what the “world” is and then change that world in a fashion that makes it better,” Dr. Don said.
Dr. Don’s assignment presented Ramirez with an opportunity to realize something he had already been thinking about.
“My group and I decided we wanted to celebrate the strength of people going through cancer therapy, and this assignment was the perfect opportunity to do just that,” Adam said.
Adam and his group decided to provide an opportunity for cancer patients to receive a complete makeover. From hair and makeup, to manicures and pedicures, participants will have a chance to feel beautiful for a day.
For Adam, this project hit particularly close to home since his wife had recently been fighting brain cancer.
“After she had brain surgery she went through chemo and radiation and she lost a lot of hair. From the chemo, she also got a lot of acne and gained a lot of weight,” Adam added. “Having a friend come by and style her hair and makeup made her feel good about herself.”
He was surprised to see how just a little bit of extra attention gave her the hope and confidence she needed to continue battling the disease.
“I figured maybe we can do this as part of the school project and have it at Northwest Vista,” Adam added. “We could get others involved and make it a collaborative initiative with the schools.”
Palo Alto College agreed to do the makeup and hair of participants.
Adam welcomes the unconventional lesson, pointing out we live in a world where most of our connections are via social media.
“What is important for college students is not just to come to college and get lectured, but to come with the intent of actually using what we learned to go out and help people,” Adam added. “In today’s society, where we live in a world disconnected because of technology, we still really need that personal connection with people.”
That concept is exactly what Dr. Don was aiming to teach his students.
“Most classes have students talking about changes,” said Lucas, “my class requires students to actually make the change. And what is the ‘change?'” My students get to define that too,” he added.
“Even after teaching for nearly 30 years, it is still amazing to me—what students will do—when given the opportunity—and encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity—to learn,” he added. “It is something that I really wanted to do and I couldn’t think of a better place than at Northwest Vista.”
The makeovers will take place on Nov, 16 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Pecan Hall conference room.
