[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.51″][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image: Divider” src=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/NPR-placeholder-1920×15.gif” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ \/][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image” src=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/KenSparks-Main-Photo.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ alt=”One of Farris Barakat\u2019s favorite parts of the Light House: A plaque depicting the silhouettes of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha made by a company started by North Carolina State undergraduate students is one of Farris\u2019 favorite parts of the house. (Cole del Charco\/NextGenRadio)” \/][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title admin_label=”Fullwidth Post Title ##Nothing to add here##” title=”on” meta=”on” author=”on” date=”on” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”on” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”left” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” module_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.51″]<\/p>\n
Ken Sparks drives for <\/span>Uber<\/span><\/a> as a second occupation. He likes the extra money, but he said for him, the gig is really about people.<\/span><\/p>\n “My favorite part of driving for Uber is meeting new people \u2014 people that I otherwise may have never met,\u201d said Sparks. \u201cI learn about their cultures, how people think, and it gives me a better idea of what this world is really like when you meet people and talk to them face-to-face.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Face-to-face interaction isn\u2019t always a reality when it comes to Sparks\u2019 main job. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a perfusion technician here at <\/span>Temple University Hospital<\/span><\/a>. I love the fact that I can help people as far as working in cardiac surgery,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>perfusionist<\/span><\/a> is the technician who operates the Cardiopulmonary Bypass machine that acts as your heart and lungs during surgery. The machine monitors your vitals and heart rate as it carries blood in and out of the body.<\/span><\/p>\n He starts early, setting up the operating room at 5:30 a.m. Surgical cases usually begin arriving at 7:00 a.m. Trained to work the machine during bypasses, valve replacements, and open heart surgeries, he then takes his place to \u201cpump the case\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Sparks also works with the organ recovery team. When they get a call from <\/span>Gift of Life<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>he assists the surgeons in procuring the hearts and lungs for transplantation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the donors actually are people that\u2019ve been in accidents from drunk driving, either hit by a car or driving drunk,\u201d Sparks said. <\/span><\/p>\n As an Uber driver, Sparks is particularly interested in getting those who have been drinking safely home. While he said he knows organs for transplant surgery are in high demand, he likes knowing he was able to help someone get home alive, to their family. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sparks said he has a special understanding for people who may drink excessively and lose control. He\u2019s had his own struggles with substance abuse. For 16 years, he was addicted to crack cocaine. He lost his job, and his family, eventually ending up homeless. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I finally, if you would, came to myself, I was eating out of a dumpster at Broad and Wyoming,\u201d Sparks said. <\/span><\/p>\n When he finally decided to change his life, he entered a drug rehabilitation program. \u00a0During a career day he learned about the perfusionist job. \u00a0After completing a total of six years of school, he now works for a service that contracts him out to a number of Philadelphia area hospitals. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cConsidering where I was, and where I am now, I\u2019m the happiest I\u2019ve ever been,\u201d said Sparks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Blurb” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”off” use_circle=”off” use_circle_border=”off” icon_placement=”top” use_icon_font_size=”off” background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid” animation=”top”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Above:\u00a0<\/span>Ken Sparks (second from right) and the Temple Percurement Team being trained on the Transmedics Pulmonary Transportation Device. (From Left) John Holtz from Gift of Life<\/i>, Dr. Keshafromurphy (Dr. K) and Dr. Gomez-Abraham, both cardiac surgeons, Sparks and Dr. Liotta, who is a transplant surgeon. (Photo Courtesy: Ken Sparks)<\/p>\n Below: Ken Sparks is getting ready to take a helicopter to an organ harvest in Hershey, PA. <\/span>(Photo Courtesy: Ken Sparks)<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_audio admin_label=”Audio” title=”Your Uber Driver is Arriving Now – Do You Know Who Your Driver Is?” artist_name=”Sarah Diomande” album_name=”Next Generation Radio” background_layout=”dark” border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ audio=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/SPARKS.wav” image_url=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/Uber-Audio-Picture.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|” _builder_version=”3.0.51″][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image: Divider” src=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/NPR-placeholder-1920×15.gif” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” fullwidth=”off” background_color=”#0073ae” _builder_version=”3.0.51″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image: site logo” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url=”http:\/\/wunc.org\/” url_new_window=”on” use_overlay=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/06\/nextgen_logo_web2.png” animation=”off” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n We are finding, coaching and training public media’s next generation. This #nextgenradio<\/strong><\/a> project is created in partnership with WHYY-FM Philadelphia. Learn more about Next Generation Radio and upcoming programs<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”center” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow admin_label=”Social Media Follow” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ link_shape=”rounded_rectangle” url_new_window=”on” follow_button=”off” background_layout=”dark”] [et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” skype_action=”call” url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/officialnextgenerationradio\/” bg_color=”##52BDEC”]Facebook [\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” skype_action=”call” url=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/nextgenradio” bg_color=”#00aced”]Twitter [\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network] [\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ken Sparks drives for Uber as a second occupation. He likes the extra money, but he said for him, the gig is really about people. “My favorite part of driving for Uber is meeting new people \u2014 people that I otherwise may have never met,\u201d said Sparks. \u201cI learn about their cultures, how people think, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":445,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[28],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whyy2017.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}FOLLOW US<\/h4>\n