Summer internship leads to career helping hospitalized kids

Being away from home and undergoing medical care can be a scary and lonely time for kids and their families. College student Maria Ochoa spent the summer helping hospitalized children get a fun break from treatments while living at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.

A University of Houston senior, Maria is among the dozens of college students selected for the ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program, which provides paid internships for 30 nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving those in need and having a positive impact on the Greater Houston area. Leaders at Ronald McDonald House were so impressed with Maria’s work over the course of her summer internship, they offered her a job as House Manager.

One event led by Maria was the “Cubhouse” Party. Using donated teddy bears and Build-a-Bear boxes, child patients and their siblings residing at Holcombe House had the chance to dress and style their bear and decorate its “cubhouse.” Since the participating children have relocated to the Ronald McDonald House as their home away from home during their medical treatment, they can help their bears feel at home in their new “cubhouses.”

The ExxonMobil Community Summer Jobs Program, funded and coordinated by ExxonMobil, is helping lay the groundwork for a lifetime of community service and opening new doors for students like Maria.

Before her internship, Maria was unsure what career to pursue after college. Through her experience in the Ronald McDonald House internship this summer, Maria found her calling—to help hospitalized children and their families.

Ronald McDonald House Houston offers a home away from home providing care, compassion and hope to families with seriously ill children being treated in Texas Medical Center member institutions.