For spring sports, summer break usually signifies the end of a long, grueling season and a chance for players to recharge the batteries. However, there is one student-athlete at the University of Central Arkansas that chooses to spend her summers a bit differently.
Bears’ softball standout Oakley Sisemore has spent the past three summer breaks assisting at a local orphanage in Uganda.
“There are these ‘moms’ there at the orphanages that oversee as many as eight or nine kids each,” said Sisemore, who traveled with a group of friends and worship leaders to volunteer. “We really just wanted to provide them with a break since they were always so busy. The living arrangements were definitely unique. They stayed in these ‘pods.’ It was basically a small house that most of the time did have cold running water but not much else.”
While working with children was a great experience on its own, Sisemore has always been enamored with working in the medical field. While in Uganda, she was given the opportunity to visit a local hospital and work with patients that had varying conditions.
“There was a doctor there named Bridgett Hurry whose family was there longterm, and they were looking for people to go to this hospital a few hours away,” Sisemore stated. “I just kind of raised my hand, and she said, ‘OK, let’s go then.’ I have always wanted to work in health care or in the medical field, so I loved it. There were a few scheduled surgeries that day, so that whole experience was great.”
This past summer, a few more players from the UCA softball squad decided to join Sisemore in volunteering in Uganda. Cheyenne Kuhn and Rachel Haberman each spent time there contributing to the orphanage and assisting in any way possible.
“One of the things I love is that every time I go back, they all remember my name and everyone knows who I am,” Sisemore said. “A lot of people think that you go on these mission trips and you are just some sort of savior. The reality is these people are so empowered and have so much to offer, but they just lack resources to do the things we can do. The best part to me was realizing how capable they are of living a life like us while developing those friendships.”
Sisemore is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental sciences as she prepares to take her MCAT and apply for medical school. While teaching is something that may interest her down the line, Sisemore plans on practicing medicine during the majority of her career.