Cailen McManus is a California-raised rising senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. As a seventeen-year-old girl, she enjoys investing quality time with her friends, traveling, and being a leader at San Francisco Solano Catholic Church. Since she was thirteen years old, Cailen has dreamed of having a career in medicine, especially pediatrics or neonatology, because she finds joy in caring for children and working hard to solve issues. To experience the medical field before committing to the true competitiveness of the field, Cailen traveled to Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica with doctors, medical students, and her grandparents when she was fifteen years old. While working in the clinic, Cailen performed medical examinations on patients from all different backgrounds and areas of pain, such as general physical exams, neurological exams, glucose blood testing, and more. This medical mission trip solidified Cailen’s desire to work in medicine, especially when she had the opportunity to perform the children’s school physicals on the last day. Her day was filled with many smiles of toddlers and babies, and peace that God blessed her with the humbling and spiritual experience to help and befriend His people.

Tell us a little bit about your Mission Trip to St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

“My grandpa, his name is Ken, is the President of the Osteopathic Group of Florida. He works with this medical school called Lake Eerie Osteopathic College in Brandt, Florida. They take incoming second year medical students to Jamaica so they can get clinical experience before their last textbook learning year before they go into clinical the following year. I worked with my grandparents and four doctors from all over the country, 12 medical students and a couple nurses. We worked in the clinic from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and I got to rotate with medical students. I got to do hands on work.”

What inspired you to participate in this mission trip?

“I always was interested in the medical field. I really wanted to get a sense of what it’s like to be in the medical field. When I went, there was not a moment in that week where I did not feel joyful. They were the most beautiful moments in my life. My favorite part was working with the kids. The last day I got to work like a pediatrician. I did physicals for three-year-old children. I got to do things like injections and neural checkup procedures, and I had a nurse that was signing off on everything I was doing. I felt like I was in the profession. It was life-changing to see the kids. Most of them walk six miles to school every day there and back and live in tin shacks. Their parents were either farmers or fishermen. And a lot of them were actually abandoned. We had one girl who was 10 years old and didn’t really have parents. But every single day she walked over to the clinic and hung out with us and helped package our nutrition bags that we gave the people.”

What is your personal goal in going on these types of missions?

“First, to reach as many people as I can whether through the work that I’m doing or being kind. My second goal is honestly to be humble about it. To learn about the different communities that exist. Before I went on this trip I hadn’t really been exposed to the reality of poor communities. I had seen pictures and learned about them, but I wasn’t able to dive as deep into it and live among the people. It was a very humbling experience. I want to continue living humbly. Going on these kinds of trips enables me to appreciate everything these people are going through. It helps me to be a more considerate, humble and compassionate person.”

How does your faith play into your life and your overall goal?

“My faith plays a huge part of it because I think that all people are God’s people whether they praise God or not. There are different levels of how close we are to God and I love being the hands and feet for Jesus on this earth. I love to do everything that I can to make other people feel joyful and help them. I love to be that friend who listens and gives advice or hangs out with people who I know are struggling. I realize that I can do these things here at home or abroad. In Jamaica, a lot of the people appeared joyful but I could tell that they were also a very hopeless population. I could tell in all their eyes they were sad and depressed. It was very important for me to look at them and smile and make them laugh, especially the kids because I know they are growing up under difficult circumstances. A lot of them don’t get to see America or other nations. A lot of them don’t even get to visit other cities or see Montego Bay. All they know is poverty. These children have been abandoned. By knowing God, I feel I am able to bring them joy. I love putting my faith into action.”

So what are some of the things you do here at home?

“I lead Confirmation at San Francisco Solano. I love doing that. It is a way for me to deepen someone else’s faith and educate them while also enriching my own faith. I volunteer a lot at the church.”

“I also volunteer at the Shea Center on Fridays.  The Shea Center is a horseback riding center for children and adults with disabilities in San Juan Capistrano. I am a side walker, which means I stand beside a child as he rides the horse. I work with him to ensure that he rides the horse safely. I have enjoyed watching him improve and building confidence in himself. It’s been such an incredible experience to participate in this child’s progress.”

How did SM shape you to be the person you are right now?

“I wasn’t supposed to come to SM. I was supposed to go to a public school. But I had this feeling that I needed to at least come to the campus and see what it was about. As soon as I walked around campus, I was like, this is it – this is home! I knew there was something here for me. I loved the faith aspect of it. I didn’t have a super strong faith back then. But something was calling me to go here – I knew there was something. I saw a lot of people around me who were doing similar things that I was doing. It was cool to be surrounded by people who were interested in those things. Besides the mission trips, SM has shaped me because it’s not just about academics or athletics. There is also a faith challenge. You have to look for it sometimes but once you get involved with the faith here, there is no way to not keep doing it.”