Rancho Resident You Should Know: Stacey Droll

Stacey Droll is trying to make Rancho Cordova a better place, and she is doing just that, one doctor at a time.

 Droll, 24, is an Americorps*VISTA volunteer who has been stationed in Rancho Cordova to work with the Communities and Physicians Together (CPT) program.  Her role in the program is to help doctors connect with their community through projects that promote good health and well-being, and so far, she has seen great success with her work.

 “One physician recently completed her residency from UC Davis Medical Center and she is continuing her to hold monthly Girls Group sessions Mather Youth Academy, where she does activities and game with the students and gives them the opportunity to be around a doctor in a non-clinical environment.” Droll said. “Every single resident that I’ve been able to work with, they’re just amazing people and I’m excited that they have this opportunity through CPT to go out into communities and get to know people outside a hospital setting.”

 Her program uses a unique outlook on the community called Asset-Based Community Development. “What that means is it’s basically looking at the community with the glass half full,” Droll said. “When people talk about a certain neighborhoods, they tend look at the negative things, like there’s a lot of poverty here, or these kids are always in trouble. Asset-Based Community Development is an approach to looking at a community though a lens of everybody in the community has gifts. A drug dealer, they have gifts. They’re not using them in a positive way, but they’re excellent networkers — they’re salespeople. What we’ve found is that people are just waiting to be asked, can you use your gifts to support and better your community? When someone contributes to a project it gives them a sense of pride and ownership for the progress in the community.”

 Droll, whose home is in Springfield, Ill., has been working with the program for nearly a year and will be moving on Dec. 4, when her Americorps contract expires. Her volunteering spirit doesn’t end with Americorps, however; she has been nominated to a Peace Corps program in Sub-Saharan Africa, where she will be working for a health and community development project. “When I say I’m going to move to Africa, I lose my breath,” she said. “I can’t believe I’ll be going to Africa!”

 One of her heroes is Rita Golden Gelman, a ‘female nomad’ who has travelled the world, helping people along the way. Droll said she would love to have a similar experience to Gelman’s. “I want to live everywhere,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like I’m going to settle down anytime soon.”

 Despite her nomadic spirit, Droll plans on continuing her education after her time in the Peace Corps. On top of her major in psychology and minor in criminal justice, she is planning on getting a master’s degree in social work.  She said she chose social work because she wants to make a difference in people’s lives. “That’s my main motivation — people and doing things that are meaningful,” she said.

 People figure prominently in Droll’s definition of success. She said she believes the people she meets are what make her volunteerism worthwhile. “My motivation is people,” she said. “I think what’s most important above anything else is your relationships with people. Not fame, not money, not what you’ve accomplished — but people you meet along the way.”

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Posted by Anne Lowe on Nov 17 2009. Filed under Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.