Allison Hollingsworth
Outreach Projects
Servicing the Community
Although I currently live in Clemson, South Carolina to attend school,
my heart still belongs to Charleston. I am from a smaller town outside
of Charleston called Summerville. This town holds my community: my
family, friends, and Church. During any break I have I take that
opportunity to go home and continue serving the community that
raised me. Seacoast Church is a family, no matter how big and how
many locations it has, everyone there is bonded in the most special
thing- Christ. I am personally a newer attendant of this Church, yet I
have always felt welcomed. One of the most special things about this
Church is how they give back to others. Seacoast Church has their very own food pantry, available to anyone in need. During my thanksgiving break, my friend and I asked family and friends to gather any canned foods or dry goods to donate to these families. We went to each one's house and picked up the supplies and brought them to the pantry. The holiday season is when food pantries need the most donations, as everyone deserves to have a meal with their family. I am so thankful I have been blessed with the means and opportunity to give back to these people in my town who work so hard. Even though I do not know them, they are a part of my community, making each one hold a special place in my heart. Since I was little, my mom has always shown me that we should use our blessings to help others. Because we live near a school, there is a Blessings Box right up the road. A Blessings Box is a place where you can donate any dry goods including food, toiletries, and anything else one may need. No matter where I live, I plan to continue to always find a place I can help others around me. You can find locations near you by searching Blessing Boxes in my area, or you can find food pantries and most Churches. I encourage everyone to donate what they are able to, even if it means unopened non-perishable items in your pantry you realized you never used.
Current Employment
When I am not at school, I am here. I am currently a cashier at Ingles market. This means I have a lot of interactions with many different people every day. Which is actually something I enjoy most about my job. Being able to speak to people of all backgrounds, even if it is just for a few minutes while you scantheir Items, can really teach you many things. I feel like I get to connect with others in my community, which is very important to me. I enjoy being able to contribute to them having a positive interaction during their day. Being a cashier is a customer- service based job, so I ensure each customer that comes through my line is able to have a good experience. You never know what kind of day someone is having, so it is important that you do provide only positive interactions with everyone you come into contact with. I believe this job will help me continue to build my people skills, preparing me for a future in the medical field.
Photo credits: Alex Moffitt
Future Career Path
Since I was little I have always been interested in the medical field, as I liked the idea of being able to help others and make a difference in my community. Over the years, the basis of medicine has remained my passion, but the specific careers have changed. When I was really young, I wanted to be a pediatrician- I guess maybe because this was really the only medical office I had been exposed to. This dream soon changed when I first started watching Grey's Anatomy. As cliche as this sounds, this inspired me my interest in surgery. This remained my passion throughout middle school and most of my highschool years. I took every medical related class I could and I knew regardless of the speciality, I would be pursuing a career in medicine. Where I really found my love was for anatomy- which was first truly introduced to me in Sports Medicine. This became my favorite class as all the information just clicked. I loved have the knowledge about how injuries occur and how to treat them. This presented me with the opportunity to become a student trainer for my highschool's football team. Before this, I was unaware of the field of Athletic Training, but I absolutely loved it. It provided me with an abundance of hands-on experience. I performed tasks such as taping prior to practice and games, wrapping ice packs for the players, and making ice baths. In addition to this, I was able to observe our athletic trainer diagnose and treat the players- teaching me so much about how sports affect our bodies. On top of gaining experience and knowledge, this opportunity taught me the discipline needed to have a career in the medical field. We were expected at practice each day (even during the summer) where we each had a task - to fill the water tank and water bottles, to stock supplies, afterwards to ensure everything was cleaned and all the players had everything they needed treatment wise. Although sports medicine still remains an interest of mine as a potential career path, my focus has now become dermatology. This is partly due to my experience as a patient at my own dermatologist's office as well as the increased trend in the younger generation focusing on skin care products. This speciality allows for ample one on one time with your patient. I feel like it is a very focused, more relaxed area that I enjoy. After having many customer service jobs I have found that I enjoy working with people and being able to connect to them. In this field I would have repeat patients, allowing me to form a good relationship with them as I continued to treat them; whereas in emergency medicine your goal is to treat the patient and get them discharged as soon as possible. But with dermatology and other non emergent specialties, you are able to create an efficient treatment plan that may take some time but it is with the upmost service you can provide. What makes dermatology specifically stand out to me is my passion for the usage of clean, chemical free products as a method of protection and prevention from skin damage. What many do not know is that the majority of aging is due to sun damage. This is important because sun damage can go just beyond the cosmetic aspects of sun spots and wrinkles, it can also become dangerous as you are at risk for skin cancer. Many will believe anything advertised in the media is good for you, but often they do not explain the ingredients in their products. As a future PA in this field, I want to provide better awareness to everyone in regards to the importance of what you use on your skin and when to use it. It would be a dream of mine to work with companies in the development of skin care products that are clean, effective, and financially accessible to everyone. As the best type of medicine is preventative.I am a determined, passionate, hardworking individual. I strive not only to simply be a dermatologist PA but to make a difference in the community to help prevent conditions that we often treat. I care very much about the well-being of my future patients and providing them with the best service I can.