There may not be a more noble role than that of the volunteer. Countless people give their time for free to help others in places like food banks, schools and hospitals. Volunteering is also a way for some people to get back to a regular way of life.
That’s Liubov Kuzmenko’s plan. She’s a volunteer at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center. Kuzmenko is currently learning the ins-and-outs of the hospital’s pharmacy while also learning English. She started speaking the language eight months ago when she left her home in Ukraine a few days after Russia invaded.
“I was scared,” Kuzmenko said. “In that moment, I didn’t think about me. I thought about my daughter.”
Kuzmenko and her 7-year-old daughter escaped to Poland, then Germany, finally settling in San Diego.
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“I’m a little bit excited, I’m a little bit nervous about it, but I believe in myself,” said a smiling Kuzmenko.
Kuzmenko is now one of 200 volunteers at Sharp Chula Vista. This week is National Volunteer Week.
“I like to help people," Kuzmenko said. "I like my job."
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“Liubov is very special,” said her boss, Danny Huynh, PharmD. “She was a big deal in Ukraine. She had a very established life.”
“I’m a pharmacist. I was a Ukraine pharmacist,” said Kuzmenko with a sigh. “I worked in a pharmacy. I have a pharmacy education.”
However, that education was at Ukrainian schools. Huynh said the United States and California standards are very strict.
“So, you’re landing in the most difficult, regulated place in the world for this industry,” Huynh stated.
Volunteering is the only way Kuzmenko can do what she loves while working toward her accreditation to be a pharmacist in the United States.
“It’s a little bit hard,” Kuzmenko said.
“To come to the pharmacy and have to do this is very humbling," Huynh said. "She’s got the perfect attitude."
Kuzmenko said she and her daughter will likely stay in the United States because there will always be too much uncertainty about the safety in Ukraine in the future.
