Ask any 15-year-old how they would like to spend the long summer break and you would probably get a stack of different answers, from splashing around in the sea, spending time in town, or just hanging out with friends.

Not so for Latroy Santucci. The 15-year-old Berkeley Institute student has spent the past six weeks working full time, caring for clients at St.

Brendan's Hospital.

Latroy wanted to gain work experience working at the hospital after spending day-release classes there. She found the work so rewarding that she was willing to give up her summer in order to gain valuable work experience.

And she even managed to put in overtime at the weekends, working totally free of charge.

"I just enjoy working with these clients -- it's so rewarding,'' Latroy said, during a brief lunch-break in her hectic day.

"I work from nine to five, five days a week -- and some weekends if there's some special event going on.

"I take the clients for walks and we do art work, we go to the movies and we play music.'' Latroy now plans to spend next summer working at St. Brendan's, where she has made a great number of friends in her short stay this year.

And eventually she plans to go to college to obtain a degree in working with patients she has met before starting her career as a caregiver.

Recreational therapist Capri Smith initially supervised Latroy when she first started work, but revealed that the Warwick teenager has gained so much trust and is proving so popular with regular staff and clients alike, that she can now carry out a lot of duties on her own.