Shining moments: Root of goodness
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
For Jenna Van Hoose, the love of service is the root of all goodness.
"I've always loved helping people," said the BYU-Idaho senior between final exams recently. "When I get involved . . . it gets me excited to do more."
Her recent endeavors center on aiding a Caribbean health organization called C.H.A.R.M, or Caribbean Health Assistance, Rehabilitation and Management, where she served as director and helped raise monetary donations to purchase medical supplies for distribution in the Dominican Republic.
"I want to travel around the world to disaster areas," she said, adding that she also eventually wants "to be in a position where I can assist in brain and heart surgery."
Jenna credits her parents who taught her to be grateful for her blessings, and to set an example of service. Growing up in Annapolis, Md., she was involved by her parents in Church callings, service for local schools, recreational leagues or a needy neighbor. She remembers projects in Primary where the class would chose a country on the globe and send letters to befriend and learn about Primary children in that country.
In Young Women, she wrote to youth in other countries and worked on humanitarian kits for those affected by hunger or natural disasters. She worked in a homeless shelter's soup kitchen in Baltimore, Md., where recipients received a hug and a kind word to know that someone cared.
On other occasions, she tutored developmentally disabled children, helping them play games, read books, do arts and crafts, and participate in sports. "Just my being there made them smile," she said.
By middle school, she affirmed her desire to go into medicine. "I never wavered. It's another way to bless people," she said.
She lives by the credo expressed by Joseph Smith, who said: "If we live up to our privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being our associates."
"I want to live up to my privileges," she said.
— Shaun Stahle
