Working in health care during the coronavirus pandemic is no easy feat, but a 16-year-old says it's not a job, it's a passion.

Kirsten Lynch splits her hours between full-time studies to become a registered nurse and 15 hours of continued volunteering at Skyview Nursing Home in Croton.

"I know for nursing homes -- they're not like home, and I know I'd want to be home if was in a nursing home," she says. "It's just nice playing with them. And like talking to them it feels like you have 50 grandmas, so it's cool."

The student at the Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES says it's difficult and rewarding to juggle both school work and volunteering during a pandemic.

It's something she's been doing months before the outbreak seeped into the region.

She says it's been a good experience to understand operations in a time of crisis. "And I just like making their stay a little more - hopefully better," she adds.

It's the quality time Lynch spends with residents that she finds most valuable.

It's her drive and compassion that makes Lynch a star-studded student in life itself.

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