By Justin Hsieh
Passion. Unbridled, unapologetic, unshakeable passion. The kind of internal fire that lights up the eyes and electrifies the voice. A force of nature relentless as waves on the beach, and constant as the tide. Passion for helping people. Passion for making connections. Passion to do more, to try new things and to push the boundaries of what it’s humanly possible to contribute to a cause.
That’s what comes across when you talk to junior Tara Lam, who for the past year has devoted that bonfire of tenacity and energy to serving the American Red Cross. It’s a story not of miraculous moments, flashes of inspiration or twists of fate, but rather one of steadfast determination, unflinching hard work and – of course – endless, unstoppable passion. A story that shows that making a difference depends not on winning the lottery of opportunity, but rather on a willingness to make big choices, seek greater challenges, and work and work and work in pursuit of a goal worth following.
The story of Lam’s involvement with the Red Cross goes back to her freshman year, when she decided to join the Red Cross club at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS). It’s a beginning that presages the rest of her journey; a decision based on that guiding desire to seek involvement and pursue passion.
“I feel like a lot of people have that life-changing moment, where something personal happens to them or their family that prompts them to take immediate action,” Lam said. “I never had that life-changing experience; I started just wanting to get involved at FVHS without any specific clubs in mind. Red Cross appealed to me the most because on top of volunteering for typical events like marathons and other local events, Red Cross goes above and beyond to host blood drives or CPR classes on campus.”
Given her interest in medicine and her love for service, Lam discovered that the club was perfect for her and quickly became a dedicated member. In keeping with her characteristic drive to grow, however, Lam soon sought opportunities to expand her contribution, earning a position as the club’s activities coordinator her sophomore year and then as its vice president her junior year.
“As a member I didn’t have the ability to do as much as I wanted to, so that’s why I decided to run for board,” Lam said. “I liked being in those leadership positions because I had a larger avenue to do what I wanted with the club and it gave me connections with the advisor and with the American Red Cross coordinator.”
Those connections would be invaluable for Lam in achieving her vision for FVHS Red Cross, which centered around bringing the club into closer connection with the national organization of the American Red Cross. Soon after assuming the role of vice president, Lam moved to partner FVHS Red Cross with its national counterpart instead of the the University of California, Irvine Health Center for the first time in years, holding the school’s fall blood drive with the American Red Cross.
The drive was a success, collecting enough blood to save over 220 lives. For Lam, however, her work with the club at FVHS wasn’t enough. She wanted to do as much as she could to contribute to the mission of the American Red Cross, a goal stated by the organization of “[preventing] and [alleviating] human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”
So, in the summer of 2019, Lam went directly to the American Red Cross at its local chapter based in Santa Ana, and trained as a Blood Drive Ambassador (a blood drive volunteer) in the organization’s Summer Youth Corps.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into before – obviously, during training you’re not sitting in the blood drive yet – but once I did my first blood drive, I said ‘okay, I’m doing this all the time.’ It was so interesting to see and hear the stories of all the donors and all of the employees who work there, and every single person has their own reason to be a part of this and it was just so inspiring to me,” she said.
Still seeking to do more, Lam asked her supervisor for an opportunity to further her contribution to the organization. She was quickly made the program’s scheduling lead, working with and organizing other high school volunteers.
“Tara’s positive energy and enthusiasm impressed me right away,” Lam’s supervisor Debbie Pari said. “She had a willingness to go above and beyond. She quickly became comfortable and very knowledgeable [about] the blood donation process and journey.”
Fall came, and when a coordinator at the Santa Ana site left to attend nursing school, the vacancy was offered to the Summer Youth Corps’ rising star. For Lam, who was enrolled in multiple AP classes, returning for her second year in the FVHS Associated Student Body and entering her position as vice president of the FVHS Red Cross club, the choice of taking on the additional duties was easy. She accepted.
Now, Lam is the Blood Services Fixed Site Lead at the Santa Ana Donor Center, the Blood Services Scheduling Specialist for Orange County, and the chapter’s Volunteer Recognition and Appreciation Lead. She schedules regular volunteers at the Santa Ana site, manages schedules and communicates updates with the Orange County chapter’s volunteers, and compiles reports for every blood drive with information about each volunteer to help nurses and volunteers connect.
The responsibility is colossal, and has tested Lam’s organization, self-discipline and time management skills. Yet Lam has no regrets. What keeps her motivated, she says, is the diverse and supportive community of volunteers that she works with, and an understanding of the impact they are able to have.
“What I like about the Red Cross is that every task affects so many people,” Lam said. “When I put on the blood drive, I thought ‘this is just a blood drive, we do it twice every year’ – but when we got the numbers back of how many lives we saved… I realized that a really little action can go such a long way with the Red Cross because you’re saving lives, you’re potentially doing so much that you never thought you would be doing as a high school student.”
That is the key to Lam’s success. That deep faith in the importance of her work, in her capacity to make a difference, is what has driven her to dedicate herself so wholly and achieve so much. It’s a lesson in the power of passion, and one she hopes she can share with other students.
“Take every opportunity, use everything you’re given to your advantage,” Lam said. “If you join Red Cross, don’t stop there. Keep going. Keep trying to be more involved, in the American Red Cross or on the board. Just keep striving to do the most you can do because it’s so rewarding. In the end, every single little effort that you put in is going to pay off, not only for you but for your community and for those around you.”
The vision of the American Red Cross is to be “always there in times of need,” to “turn compassion into action.” Tara Lam lives those words. Day in and day out.
This story was originally published in the 2020 RED Magazine.
