As they enter high school, many students begin to branch out into different after-school activities, delving into sports, clubs and even jobs. Junior Camila Ruiz shares her life as a full-time student and part-time employee, working with the Parkinson’s Foundation since the Summer of 2020.

After being introduced to the Parkinson’s Foundation through her mom’s job, Ruiz began to work for her boss as an assistant in the Summer of 2020, completing tasks such as translating and formatting documents. In August, she was approached by the chief and was offered a paid internship with them. Ruiz accepted the opportunity and since then has been working for the foundation, helping them out with a study they are conducting and other various tasks. Ruiz lists some examples of her duties, such as replying to emails, helping individuals enroll in the study and occasionally scheduling meetings.

Already being an impressive feat, Ruiz also balances her work with other extracurricular activities such as involving herself in Gables Earth and National Honor Society, as well as learning guitar independently. Though keeping up with school and extracurriculars can be pretty challenging for most students, Ruiz found a way to balance her social, academic and work life. She points out that the way she manages her school, work and extracurriculars is just by setting up a schedule for herself in order to use her time wisely.

“I try to finish all my work and school tasks before the weekend so I have time off to do things I enjoy and spend time with family and friends, safely,” junior Camila Ruiz said.

Ruiz mentions that another positive aspect of working with the Parkinson’s Foundation is that they have been considerate with the fact that she is in high school, allowing her to work from home and create her own, flexible schedule.

After landing this job, she explains how it has opened up the possibilities for what she wants to do when she is older. Ruiz says she has not decided yet if this is for sure something she would want to do in the future, as she has her eye on entering other fields, like criminal justice. She does say, though, that her internship has put working for the foundation in the future on her mind more than it was before.

Ruiz advises those interested in getting involved in an organization like this to focus on time management, speak up and most importantly, communicate.

“Communication is extremely important and putting oneself out there for big opportunities should always be done. It can be a little scary, but you will never know until you try,” junior Camila Ruiz said.

Working with the Parkinson’s Foundation has been a great experience overall for Ruiz. She loves her job and is thrilled that she gets the chance to be involved in and help others enroll in the study that the foundation is doing, knowing that she is working for such a cause of great importance to her.