Volunteering is the Best Medicine
Written by Karl Hennen
Celebrating the importance of community and health care alongside altruism, student pharmacist Jairus Mahoe has set forth on an exhilarating pathway of volunteering with frequent milestones— including an enrollment within the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) at UH Hilo. The 28-year-old P3 (third-year) student and President of Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy Fraternity’s DKICP chapter hopes to obtain his Doctorate of Pharmacy by 2016. A graduate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Mahoe acknowledges the commitments to his field being among the most significant in crafting the dedication he embodies today.
With parents from Hilo and Kona, Mahoe was uncertain of his calling in pharmacology until graduating from Kealakehe High School. Instinctively gravitating towards the health care industry, Mahoe considered becoming a dietician, nurse, or physical therapist at Manoa, but was drawn to a role as pharmacist for its greater compatibility with his lifestyle and personality. Graduating with an Economics Baccalaureate degree in 2011, he remained a diligent assistant in the employ of physician Dr. Glenn Uto. Mahoe also contributed voluntary work to a local pharmacy before transferring to the DKICP.
“I was able to work in a physician’s office [and] saw the patients come in, drop off their prescription, and come by later, so I got to see all aspects of the health care field,” Mahoe relates. “I had the privilege of [seeing] patients in a physician’s office and a pharmacy, so in that aspect I could see the prescription that they were getting from their physician and the prescription that they were getting from their pharmacist as well.”
Earlier this spring, Mahoe was elected President of Phi Delta Chi (PDC), a position he will hold for the 2014-2015 school year. Joining the fraternity his first year at the DKICP during the 2012 fall semester, Mahoe’s appreciation for the group’s philanthropy echoed his respect for its members’ friendliness, understanding their support facilitated his personal growth. He cites one community-oriented case as illustrating many which resonated with him.
“At the end of an entire semester of giving back to the community, every December [the] PDC participates in Operation Christmas Child which [involves] donating gifts to families and children,” Mahoe explains. “It was really nice to see the generosity and selflessness of everyone. It was the embodiment of the Aloha Spirit where people are giving of themselves … when people are still able to purchase gifts, wrap gifts, and give to this event.”
Along with the rest of the Phi Delta Chi, Mahoe was and continues to be recognized by UH Hilo for his contributions. Associate Professor Forrest Batz, Pharm.D, commented on Mahoe’s work with the organization.
“The DKCIP PDC chapter has gained national recognition for their innovative activities, including their annual Milolii Health Fair”, he writes. “Jairus gives of himself tirelessly, organization and participating in numerous on- and off-campus activities to promote community service, student involvement and professionalism.”
Mahoe has volunteered himself to such a number of causes he has involuntarily been unable to recall specifics of them all. Prior to enrolling within the DKICP, for example, under the care of pharmacist Jeff Kong, he volunteered at a clinic, where he learned more about his field than ever before. There, he wrote up prescription forms between stocking medications as a technician. It was Kong’s imparted lessons and their shared experiences within the pharmacy, however, which proved the most profound for Mahoe. After becoming part of the DKIP, Mahoe was also involved in the children’s tobacco-preventive “What About Tobacco” (WAT) Program. He, with other DKICP pharmacists, delivered hands-on presentations to local fourth-grade classrooms. But it is Mahoe’s memories of his direct participation in the DKCIP Milolii Health Fair and fundraising for the ALS Association and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital which seem certain to stay.
Starting in 2011, the Milolii Health Fair is an outreach event wherein members of the PDC and DKICP advisors offer health screenings at the Milolii Community Center. Screenings include tests for blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, among other health factors. In addition, information panels, medication counseling, food, and games for children are provided every year. With considerable personal and resource investments, Mahoe considers the Fair among his most successful volunteer experiences— no different than his work with the ALS Association and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“The ALS Association & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fundraiser was inspired by our chapter advisor, Dr. Aaron Jacobs,” Mahoe reminisces. “He did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on campus in front of the entire school. At the end, he challenged all presidents of PDC, past and present. Therefore, I challenged our entire chapter (and even those not in PDC) to donate to charity. I didn’t ask for the usual $100 donation that’s part of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, but instead, I asked for a few dollars to give to the ALS Association and PDC’s philanthropic partner, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. And I did it while sitting in a kiddie pool filled with 200 lbs. of ice. The response was overwhelming. Within a couple days, we raised $1,136 to donate to both charities.”
Offering services to many events over the years, Mahoe believes his experiences represent unique opportunities to become closer to the community and environment. In general, it has broadened his perspective of what it means to be connected to a greater common good. Mahoe asserts the individual may not grasp how beneficial volunteering can be until they actively put themselves out there. However, as his efforts have taught him, voluntary service fosters appreciation for a larger humanity, beyond self-interest. It can leading to unlocking greater depths of compassion.
“I’ve always known that life is bigger than myself,” a thoughtful Mahoe posits. “Volunteering reminds me that this world depends on [people]; whether we dwindle or strive, it depends on us helping one another.”
Mahoe has dreams of traveling on the scale of his experiences. Having already visited the Big Island, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, Lana’i, and Maui for different health care events, as well as pharmacy conferences in Los Angeles, Tampa, and Washington D.C., he does not believe in restricting himself to apply his ventures to a single location. With a San Diego research conference on the horizon, it is not surprising he aims to travel to additional hospitals and pharmacy sites in the islands, Alaska, California, and Thailand.
His efforts as far-reaching as his determination to overcome the stereotypical image of a pharmacist as someone confined to counting pills or answering phones behind a glass window, Jairus Mahoe has redefined the extent to which anyone, regardless of academic field, can make a difference in making the world a more positive setting for others. Showing no signs of quitting volunteering, Mahoe will help be there spreading the community spirit to healthy patient bodies and minds, wherever he applies his goals.
