Posted by Having a familiar face greeting IWK visitors isn’t hard when you have triplets volunteering at the information desks. Sisters Brienna, Keely, & Melissa O’Neil have been volunteering with the IWK for the last three summers, and, if you didn’t know better, you’d be forgiven for mistaking them as one super-human that seems to be everywhere.
The girls started volunteering in 2016, but their IWK story started well before that. It was here the O’Neil parents got the news about their triple bundle-of-joy, and the IWK delivered the triplets on September 19th, 2001. Since then, the girls have spent every birthday together; until this year as they head to separate universities for their first university semester.
“Brienna and I are going to the University of Manitoba, and Keely is staying here going to Saint Mary’s University,” says Melissa O’Neil. “The longest we’ve ever been away from each other was ten days, and that was only a few months ago.”
Despite their education being separate, all three girls have their sights set on careers in nursing and say that they would love to one day become part of the IWK clinical team.
“Everyone here is so great,” says Keely. “Meeting everyone the first year made it exciting to come back and look forward to it the next. Within the first week of our first year we met our, now, two best friends.”
The summer volunteer season will soon come to a close and the O’Neil triplets will head to their next adventure. The IWK wishes the girls the best of luck in their upcoming studies and hope to see them again soon!