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UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, poses with the carolers and their leaders for a photo.
Image by Evan Lewis
Head Start Carolers Bring Holiday Spirit to Halls of UAMS
| The halls of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were alive with the sound of music Dec. 13 as a line of preschoolers from the UAMS Kennedy Head Start center left a trail of sparkle and song from the chancellor’s office to the Lobby Café.
The 13 pint-sized carolers each wore a floppy Santa hat with red and green sequins that twinkled like sugar crystals on Christmas cookies with every turn of the head as they filed off a school bus and into the Central Building at about 9 a.m.
“Let’s go! Let’s go! One behind the other!” called out Catrice Chandler, a teaching assistant dressed from head to toe in red as the children lined up behind teacher Taheisha Jefferson, also cloaked in red, to begin their walk toward their first stop: the office of UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA.
All along the route, their presence brought smiles to passersby, many of whom stopped to watch as the wee ones took in their surroundings and waved, relishing their celebrity.
Upon arrival at the suite of offices housing several UAMS leaders, Head Start teachers and assistants counted the bobbing heads aloud to make sure no one had fallen behind. Then the festive swarm entered the outer chamber of Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and suddenly became quiet while waiting to see who would emerge from behind a closed door.
“Would you like to say hi to the chancellor?” asked Michael Manley, RN, the chancellor’s chief of staff, as their eyes grew big, and they nervously looked at one another and their teachers.
“The chancellor is a big deal,” one of the adults said. The children’s eyes grew even bigger.
Suddenly, the door opened and Patterson emerged, exclaiming, “My goodness, what do we have here? Oh my goodness, you guys look so cute!”
Image by Evan Lewis
“When Santa Claus comes to Little Rock, this is the first place he comes to, because we’ve got a helicopter landing pad right above us,” he said.
Jaws dropped, and one boy in a red-striped sweater boldly asked, “Do you work for him?”
“We’re pretty tight,” Patterson replied. “Do you want me to call him about you?”
But before the boy could reply, Patterson changed the subject, saying, “Do you know what I’d like? How about some music?”
As someone tapped a switch on a mobile karaoke machine steered into the room by a parent, the space was instantly filled with the upbeat sounds of “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.”
Image by Evan Lewis
As the singing stopped, the boy in the striped sweater then informed Patterson, matter-of-factly, “We can sing it on our own.”
Patterson nodded, then stood back to watch as Chandler pulled out a bag of shiny colorful hand bells and handed one to each caroler, who in turn began to shake them fiercely to accompany their a cappella version of the same song, which drew a hearty round of applause.
Next came the song, “Dashing Through the Snow,” belted out enthusiastically to the karaoke music in the background. It was followed by “Feliz Navidad,” with Rachel Pomol, the group’s education manager, singing the first stanzas in Spanish as she grasped the hands of two reluctant carolers.
She said later that she has noticed that speaking and singing in the little ones’ native language quickly eases their anxiety and encourages their participation.
Before the group left the room to visit the adjoining chamber of College of Medicine Dean Steven Webber, M.D., Patterson sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the toddlers to pose for a group photo, and each child received a small orange Clementine.
The merriment continued in the dean’s office as the tiny carolers repeated the three songs and added another: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
“Have you all been good?” Webber asked to nods of affirmation as other employees lined a wall behind him, some clapping and singing along as the carolers erupted into song in a large common area.
Next came a long walk to the Lobby Café in the hospital lobby, where a crowd gathered to cheer on the carolers as they again delivered the four songs, though by this time some of the carolers were doing more squirming than singing, signaling that it was time to head back to school.
As the music ended, they lined up for a final stroll down the corridor, led by Head Start assistant Cassandra Roy and followed by several parents. Roy stopped them for a group photo in front of a lighted Christmas tree, and then they proceeded toward the door and the waiting bus outside as onlookers waved.
It seemed from the smiles that appeared on the faces of passing patients, visitors and white-coated doctors that all had been miraculously infused with a dose of holiday spirit.
UAMS Head Start is a federally funded scholarship program that provides comprehensive early childhood education and support services for children ages six weeks to five years at multiple sites throughout Pulaski County. The carolers have been visiting UAMS during the holidays for many years.