Who: Jalil Terry, 21, a patient access assistant at WellSpan Orthopedics – Apple Hill.

What: Jalil was in his usual spot, checking in and assisting patients at the bustling orthopedics office in York when he looked up and saw Lisa Musser, a licensed practical nurse, helping a patient out of the office.

The patient had an orthopedic boot on one foot and a shoe on his other foot. The shoe had no laces and was dirty and very worn.

Jalil, a tall, thin young guy with a quiet, caring presence, briefly left his desk and caught up with Lisa and the patient as they reached the exit door leading to the parking lot.

“Sir, sir, excuse me. What size shoe do you wear?” Jalil asked the patient.

“10 and a half or 11,” the patient said.

Jalil bent down and took off his size-11 Yeezy sneakers and gave them to the man. He returned to his desk, where he finished out his day wearing only white socks on his feet.

Words to live by: Jalil has been at WellSpan for only about seven months but says he knew before he even started that this job interacting with and answering questions from patients would be a good fit for him.

“I love it,” he said. “I like being able to help people. That’s my main thing.”

When he saw the patient leaving the office, he said, “It looked like he’s going through a lot. The first thing that went through my head was the next time I see him, I am going to buy him some shoes. But then I thought I don’t know when I will see this person again. I wanted to help him right then.”

Jalil said he did not mind working the rest of the day – or driving home – in just his socks.

“I have shoes at home,” Jalil said. “It was fine.”

Jalil said other people have helped him when he needed a boost, including a teacher who helped him get a suit to wear on his 2023 graduation day from Bishop McDevitt High School.

“It felt good that somebody cared about me,” he said. “If I can help someone else, I am going to try to help.”

Lisa Musser, who witnessed the exchange, said it was a moving experience. Jalil is not a person to call attention to himself and that simple moment spoke volumes about who he is, she says.

“I was stunned, actually,” she said. “It kind of made me tear up a little bit.

“I told Jalil, ‘That was really nice what you did.’ He said, ‘I just can’t watch somebody walk out of the office like that.’ It just gives you a minute to step back and look at a situation, don’t judge a person and go out of your way to help someone.”