“Volunteering with the American Red Cross has taught me that there is so much need within this community and even the smallest acts of service go a long way.”
Yuna Ha
By Andrea Manokian, Red Cross Communications Volunteer
Yuna Ha is on a mission to serve others, and she didn’t let a second go to waste this summer.
She’s an ambitious young woman who graduated in the top 1% of her high school class, a first-year college student aiming for a career in healthcare and a volunteer who assisted with 70 smoke detector installations during her 10-week internship with the American Red Cross Preparedness Team.
“I’m a bulldog,” Yuna proudly exclaims. After completing her undergraduate degree at California State University, Fresno, Yuna has her sights set on medical school so she can become a doctor. “In high school, I was one of only five Koreans in my entire school,” she says. An observation that motivated her to become an astute figure in her community.
Two years ago, Yuna’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. After witnessing her mother’s close relationship with her second-generation Korean doctor, and how comfortably her mother was able to communicate with her doctor in her native language, Yuna had a lightbulb moment. “I realized how important inclusion is and how having people like myself in healthcare improves people’s outcomes,” she says.
With hopes of one day becoming a doctor herself, Yuna is thankful for the time she has spent at the Red Cross. A self-proclaimed introvert, she credits the Red Cross for bringing her outside of her comfort zone and improving her communication skills. Much of her day-to-day work consisted of outreach communications on behalf of the organization, hosting Hands-Only CPR training sessions, and attending various community events which not only brought her outside of her shell but gave her more opportunities to broadcast her voice.
Yuna reflects on her most memorable Red Cross moments, something she doesn’t have a shortage of. She talks about her time spent at a Red Cross blood lab in Pomona, witnessing firsthand the ins and outs of blood donations. She also recalls community events where youth education programs such as Prepare with Pedro were a big hit. “The youth received little coloring books and I think that was a really helpful way for kids to be taught about emergency skills,” she says. “I think as a kid I would have enjoyed having that resource.”
Another Red Cross memory that stuck out to Yuna was her involvement at a food distribution event that took place at a library in Tulare County. She spent much of her time with the kids in attendance, teaching them Hands-Only CPR skills and handing out Prepare with Pedro resources. Commenting on the small size of the community, Yuna explains, “That experience opened my eyes… there are people that are hard to reach, but the American Red Cross is trying to reach as many people as possible.”
During her internship, Yuna says she felt the most positive impact from her preceptors, colleagues and other volunteers. “Everyone was always so encouraging of me and really tried to speak to my strengths,” she says. And Yuna certainly has no shortage of strengths—from her humble nature to her willingness to help others and her desire to become a role model for other second-generation Koreans such as herself.
One of her key takeaways during her internship was getting to know all of the compassionate individuals around her and she remembers their contributions as she sums up her experience in one word: “Inspiring.”
Young people represent both the future of the Red Cross as well as the present. Youth engaged in Red Cross services and programs are experiencing first-hand the humanitarian values the Red Cross exemplifies. By such involvement they will become the organization’s future leaders, service volunteers, blood donors and community supporters. Click here to discover how you can make a difference in Central California.
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