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What’s your most memorable VHIO event?
"It was an event at the Oakland Senior center and it was also my first event as an official member. The other VHIO member who was also assigned to the event couldn't make it last minute so I was all by myself and really nervous. But everything turned out really well and everyone was so kind and respectful of my presence. All the elderly there were very adorable and thankful. At the end of the event, they all thanked me on the way out and it was a very warm and accomplished feeling!"

 

GILLIAN XU
Department: Chinese Department
Year: Junior
Major: Integrative Biology

Joined VHIO: Fall 2015
Why did you join VHIO?
“I used to take being bilingual for granted and didn't realize how important and powerful it was until I came to Berkeley. I actually first joined another organization on campus that also did interpretation services but it was only for helping mothers during labor and delivery. Joining that club was one of the highlights of my freshmen year. I never knew how much of a difference I could make by speaking two languages and being able to bridge the gap between two cultures. I found out about VHIO from a friend in that program and definitely wanted to join in hopes to learn more and expand beyond just labor and delivery. And VHIO has definitely taught me so much!”

 

What is one thing you appreciate most about VHIO?

“How detailed and organized VHIO is. Even with all the various different subsets of committees and departments, everything is super organized and runs so smoothly. I really appreciate that VHIO is not just another service club that just gives us volunteer events and that's it. The club is very developed with several layers and really tries to make the most of our impact on the community. And all this is just super organized. There are organized records and Google Docs for every single thing, master lists, volunteering event debriefs, weekly digests, the decal, research and data analysis of the decal, patient satisfaction surveys, socials, and of course snacks at the meetings 🙂. I appreciate how much VHIO does – all the extra stuff rather than just having members for interpretation and translation – and it's amazing how organized everything is to really make the biggest impact we can in the community.”

Any plans for the future? 
“I have no idea! As of now, I am thinking of applying for PA school after graduation so we will see if things go as planned. Just going with the flowww ~”

A fun fact about yourself:
“I really enjoy giftwrapping and like to spend time making it all pretty ^_^”

Thank you Gillian for all that you’ve done for VHIO !

CHINESE: Gillian Xu
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