My name is Sophie Seifert and I am currently a student volunteer at the Indiana University Kacena Lab. I began volunteering with a straightforward goal: to gain hands-on medical experience that would strengthen both my understanding of healthcare and my resume. What started as a foundation to my career quickly transformed into a profound and meaningful experience, as I realized the impact of the work I was conducting. I never truly understood how important medical research is to the community and the impact that it has on real people's lives. The lab focuses on bone health and musculoskeletal research, exploring how we can improve treatments for conditions like osteoporosis and bone fractures that affect millions of people. Witnessing how our experiments could lead to better therapies and quality of life for patients made the long hours and meticulous work feel incredibly purposeful. I came to see that research isn't separate from patient care—it's the foundation that makes better care possible.