NHC Philadelphia: Now and Then
On August 18, 2025 a new cohort of nine NHC Philadelphia volunteers walked into their pre-service orientation. A buzz of nerves and excitement filled the small conference room as a group of strangers sat around a table listening to the program director, Carly, welcome them and explain what that first week would entail. The impact the service term would have was still just a small glimmer of expectation and hope.
Carly warned them that before they knew it, they would be wrapping up their term. Through many service projects, challenges, successes, and monthly training days the term sped past and the hours accumulated. And like Carly said, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves in the same conference room sitting around a table of friends at the very last training day.
During a reflection activity, each volunteer made a sign that showed their before and after journey with NHC. Here’s some of what was shared:
Leila graduated with a degree in public health and knew she wanted to travel and have a future in the public health field. She joined NHC and served with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and now she will continue taking prerequisite classes at CCP while applying to PA school.
Kaylee, another PDPH member, had never been to the east coast and was nervous about coming to Philadelphia and felt a bit uncertain about her decision. During NHC she enjoyed exploring the city, making new friends, and building strong relationships with folks at her health center. After NHC she will be attending medical school.
Sanjana served with Penn Medicine. Before NHC she was a biology major studying at Pitt. After NHC she will be staying in Philly with a new network of friends and colleagues as she takes another gap year while applying to medical school.
Niyati was at a fork in the road before joining NHC, not knowing how she wanted to continue exploring and learning about public health. During her term she served at Family Practice and Counseling Services Network. While she still isn’t sure exactly what she will be doing next, she feels more confident in her abilities and has had meaningful experiences with patient care.
Dev graduated from UNC with a neuroscience degree and was unsure where he would end up for his gap year and beyond. He decided to come to Philadelphia to serve at Penn Medicine and now he will carry his passion for community medicine into medical school.
Claire did a post-bacc program prior to serving at PDPH and was interested in public health and medicine. Since joining NHC she has a deeper understanding of systems and patient care and her plans to apply to medical school were solidified.
Maya was working, getting her masters, and studying for the MCAT before joining NHC to serve at PDPH. Leaving NHC she now has a new perspective on healthcare, new friends, and feels more confident with the process of applying to medical school.
August also served at PDPH. Before joining NHC he was at school at UCLA enjoying sunny California and being committed to community service. After graduating, he decided to move closer to home and carry on his passion for service through NHC. After his term he will be going to medical school with a fresh outlook through his experiences during the service term.
One of the aspects of the National Health Corps that is often hard to capture is the profound growth each volunteer experiences during their term. From small things like new friendships to larger examples like exposure to a new career path, each NHC volunteer leaves with some sort of lasting change.