For many people across the world, the Coronavirus Pandemic, is one of the more insane things that they have lived through. If you were alive in the year 2001, you would probably say that September 11^th was one of the more insane moments in your life. The Coronavirus has quite literally shut down our world, our country and our lives faster than we could have assumed. Because of their profession some individuals stayed at work, such as healthcare professionals, doctors, nurses and emergency room specialist. And to those people, we, as a nation, will forever be in their debt. The ultimate sacrifice to work and take care of COVID-19 patients is something this country needs to honor these specific people for. But in my eyes, its bigger than just them. In my eyes, the people who volunteer at the COVID-19 testing sites are our real heroes. Maybe that is because I know someone by the name of, Carson Weis.

            Carson Weis, lives in the small town of Rivervale, New Jersey. He has spent most of his life on the baseball diamond, but if you thought for a second that classifying Carson as just a baseball player; you would sadly be mistaken. From a young age, Carson would do anything to be a helping hand. Since he was nine years old, he has volunteered at his local church donating food, clothes and children’s games to those in need. He then spent his teenage years volunteering at the local animal shelter because he felt the need to clear all the kennels of dogs. And when this Coronavirus Pandemic struck our nation, Carson was the first to say, “I want to help!” 

            The Coronavirus needs no explaining to how deadly it can be. Yet just in case you need a refresher. A confirmed 1.4 million people have been diagnosed with having the COVID-19, with 237K are fully recovering from the disease. Unfortunately, 83,225 deaths have stemmed from this deadly disease as well. When looking at those numbers and seeing how deadly this virus can be, it would take someone who has spent their entire life volunteering to jump at the opportunity to work during this pandemic. And that person is Carson Weis.

            Carson has been volunteering at the William Paterson Testing Center since it opened. He attends William Paterson University, where he is studying how to be an athletic trainer. Carson had this to say about his time spent volunteering at the William Paterson Testing Center, “When I first started, I did not know what to expect. I didn’t know what to wear, how to protect myself from the disease, or even how to administrate the actual COVID-19 test to someone. But besides not knowing basically all valuable information, I knew the chance of me getting COVID were slim, and the odds of me getting the disease and dying from it were even slimmer. So, based off of that thought process, I knew I had to help.”      

The testing site where Carson works is no joke. On average they test about 450 people a day. The most they have ever tested was 650 people in a day. These numbers are astronomical, yet there is only one way to get to the bottom of this pandemic…continue testing. Charlene W. Gungil is the leader of the William Paterson Testing Site and she had this to say about Carson Weis, “Anytime you open up something to people who can volunteer it is always nerve-raking. Because you never truly know the caliber of people that are going to volunteer. You don’t know how much they know or how little they know. Finding common ground between us all is always the first thing that I do. Carson on the other hand, wasted no time finding that common ground. From day one he was all about helping people, cleaning up, making sure everything is done correctly and most importantly trying his best to administrate the most tests he can. Carson is our youngest volunteer, but he is also our most diligent. This place does not run smoothly without the help of Carson Weis.” 

            Carson not only volunteers to help with the COVID-19 Pandemic, but he is one of the best at what he does. For someone who came into this knowing nothing, he sure is leaving knowing a whole lot. The time Carson has spent at this Testing Center has only been beneficial to him. Clocking in at 7:30 am and clocking out at 4:30 pm is a full day’s work for someone who should be watching Netflix all day.

            Carson Weis volunteering his time to the people, has truly opened my eyes to how important giving back is. Even in the most desperate of times. Our nation is filled with greed, anger and nostalgic people who quite honestly/literally do not know how to spell the word volunteer. Everyone always so selfish, self-centered and egotistical that the thought of volunteering during these times might actually make people laugh. Yet, it is the unsung heroes that will beat this pandemic for our nation, not the ones with all the money and clout. Carson Weis has had an effect on so many people during these insane times, that it makes me think what I could have done to help. Carson had this to say about being an unsung hero, “When I first started volunteering, I never knew I would have such a deep impact on so many people. But it is the reason I started. It doesn’t matter how much you know or how little you know just being there offering your time is enough. These people are worrying about losing their lives, never seeing their families again and not being able to live their life to the fullest; I think it would be selfish of me to only worry about what Netflix show I am going to binge today. Instead of going out there to get this world back to how it use to be. One volunteer at a time.”