Senior aspires to become child life specialist

by Lane Maguire

“I can’t believe you have the emotional capacity to do that,” was her family’s initial reaction when senior Carrie Hudson explained her career aspirations.

Hudson will attend Oklahoma State University this fall where she will earn an Undergraduate degree in Child development with an emphasis in child life in the hopes of becoming a certified child life specialist. Child life specialists “help children and their families navigate the emotionally and physically demanding process of coping with hospitalization,” according to Mayo Clinic’s website. This can include, but is not limited to, preparing and supporting children through various medical procedures, explaining complex medical procedures in terms that both the parents and children can understand, and engaging in normal play with children.

“While [children] are in a hospital, laying in a bed with an IV pole attached to them, they don’t feel like a normal kid,” Hudson said. “They can’t go outside to recess with their friends and play kickball, but a child life specialist can bring them crafts and toys and games to play with.”

Senior Carrie Hudson looks up information about child life specialists.

Child life specialists must also be able to manage the emotional stress inherent in working with children who have life-threatening diseases.

“I think it you have to have lot of empathy and be willing to deal with the fact that you’re going to lose patients,” Carrie’s mom and STA college counselor, Debi Hudson, said.

In September 2004, Carrie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She finished treatment at Children’s Mercy Hospital in November of 2006. During her treatment, Carrie worked with her own child life specialists. Debi said that because of the connections Carrie made with her specialists, her career choice seemed like a natural fit from early on. Carrie still keeps in touch with one of her specialists, Amanda Woelk, CCLS.

“I think I took [child life specialists] for granted in the hospital and didn’t go to the playroom enough or do anything with them,” Carrie said. “But as my treatment went on and I got to know my child life specialist more personally, I was like, ‘This is really cool.’”

Carrie said that her own experience in battling a life-threatening disease, as well her volunteering experiences at Children’s Mercy Hospital since, have helped prepare her for her future career.

“I’ve been there,” Carrie said. “I’ve seen kids sick. I’ve had friends pass away because of it. And I really didn’t know I could deal with it until junior-senior service projects last year when I was in the burn unit and just seeing those kinds of injuries and I was able to deal with it. That’s when I was like, ‘I got this. I can do this.’”

Aside from volunteering at Children’s Mercy for juniors-senior service projects, Carrie has also been a part of Children’s Mercy’s Teen Advisory Board and is involved with Just Like You Films, which is a local film company whose mission statement is to create an environment of acceptance.

“I think Carrie will be an excellent child life specialist,” Woelk said in an email interview. “Carrie is a leader. This is a quality I have seen in her through her help with a couple of projects within the hospital, as well as some of her school projects that she has talked about. Her drive will help her be successful in this field.”

There are 231 colleges or universities in 26 states in America that offer academic programs in Child Life. These states include:

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