Sarah Klewicki balances being a student at Metea Valley with swimming, water polo playing and volunteering at the Naperville Area Humane Society. This feature is presented by Edward Elmhurst Health.
This is Frank. Frank is not the focus of this story… but he could be. No, this story is about his friend and companion, Sarah Klewicki.
Sarah Klewicki
The Metea Valley student, swimmer and water polo player isn’t just any volunteer at the Naperville Area Humane Society, she’s one of it’s most dedicated.
SARAH: I’ve been shadowing at a vet since 7th or 8th grade. I kind of have known for a while that’s what I’ve wanted to do with my life. And I was just ready to take the next step and learn more about animals. And I thought volunteering at an animal shelter would be a great way to do that.
PEGGY: I’ve seen her giving kittens baths and puppies baths and she does it all. And she works with our trainer sometimes, always wanting to learn more.
True Dedication
Peggy Kolar is the volunteer manager at the shelter and has seen Klewicki total up over a thousand hours in a little more than a year. To put that into perspective, the average volunteer is expected to preform three hours a month… or 36 in a year.
PEGGY: She spends so much time here and to be able to balance two sports, and last year I believe she had a third activity, and she still managed to come here
SARAH: Yeah, it can be hard to juggle but when I’m doing things I love it’s really not a chore, it’s more so a privilege to come here and to get to swim with amazing girls and work with amazing people and animals at the shelter.
What’s Next
Klewicki is a senior and will soon be choosing where her journey takes her next. Wherever that may be, she anticipates enrolling in a pre-vet track, continuing her life-long passion of working with animals… like Frank
But just like when one of her friends finds their forever home, the moment will likely be bittersweet.
SARAH: Seeing a favorite go, or any animal, is amazing even though it’s a little bit hard sometimes to say goodbye to an animal I’m particularly close with.
It will likely be with similar mixed emotions that the Naperville Area Humane Society will watch Klewicki continue on her mission to care for animals.