Cedarville Stories Podcast: Pandemic Intern

by Clem Boyd, Communication Content Manager – August 6, 2020

Hayley Penrose's internship with the Clark County Combined Health District quickly transformed due to COVID-19.

Hayley Penrose, a senior social work major at Cedarville, was looking forward to a summer working with young moms and their kids in Clark County, Ohio. But it wasn’t long before her internship with the Clark County Combined Health District had been transformed by COVID-19.

In a few short weeks, she switched from working with the county’s “Help Me Grow” program to serving with a 16-person team, including several epidemiologists, responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

As a member of the team, she reached out to members of the community who had been in contact with COVID-positive clients, sent out isolation and quarantine orders, and dropped off food and water to clients recovering at home.

Throughout it all, she maintained a positive attitude, especially as she remembered that each person is someone loved by God and made uniquely by Him. And by educating about and demonstrating healthy measures in the middle of COVID-19, she knows she’s making a difference. “I don’t mind wearing a mask and practicing social distancing as a health measure if it means I can help my community heal from the pandemic,” she shared.

To listen to Hayley's podcast, click on the play button belowThis part of the page will be loaded later.

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More to the Story

Hayley’s internship is also described in a story on the Cedarville University website. Click here to read it.

Hayley grew up in Springfield, Ohio, and is a graduate of Emmanuel Christian Academy.