Skylar's Hope Scholarship

I want to be a first responder because I have seen firsthand what it means when they show up at the right moment. My mom lives with Complex PTSD, and there were times when EMS were needed to help stabilize the situations that felt overwhelming to me when I was little. In those moments, firefighters and EMTs didn't just respond; they brought a sense of calm, structure, and care to a situation that to me seemed endless. I did not fully understand what it was they were doing, but I understood that when they came things got better. These experiences have stayed with me and shaped the path I am choosing today. As I got older, those memories turned into motivation. I began to see the fire service as something I wanted to be a part of. I want to be the person who shows up when others need help the most and this mindset pushed me to take discipline and growth more seriously. That motivation led me to enroll in Seattle Public Schools Skill Center class, F.I.T.E (First-In Training and Education) led by Battalion Chief Jack Greaves. With FITE I have had the opportunity to learn under great instructors and experience the fire service in a well structured environment. At first, the program was challenging. Expectations were set very high and training requires physical and mental focus. But over time, I learned how to adapt, trust my company, and stay composed in these stressful environments. One of the most important lessons I have learned through FITE is that no one succeeds alone. Every drill, every scenario, every response, all depends on teamwork and leadership. I have had the opportunity to take a second year with FITE as a Second Year (teaching assistant) and have served as a Company Officer four times concurrently, the most in program history. I've been trusted to help lead that teamwork. In these roles, I have guided other students, reinforced safety rules, advanced communication. I have learned many things in these roles but the two that have stuck with me are the importance of humility and responsibility. Leadership in the fire service isn't about taking charge, its about being dependable and making sure everyone succeeds. When mistakes happen, it is your job as a leader to take accountability for these mistakes. When I am not in FITE, I am looking for ways to support my community. 6 months ago I joined Seattle Fire Cadets and with the cadet program I have supported numerous charity events and helped Seattle fire with outreach events and parades. In addition to Fire Cadets, I help volunteer at the YMCA and YWCA assisting with Food Bank activities and the YMCA's shower program to support houseless people. Participating in these programs has reinforced my desire for helping others and reminded me why I am dedicated to pursuing a career in EMS. What drives me most is the opportunity to give back in a meaningful way. I want to be the person to bring stability to whatever chaos someone in need is experiencing, just like the first responders who impacted me. I want to serve families who are going through difficult moments and provide the same sense of reassurance that I had.

What truly sets me apart is my ability to overcome life’s obstacles and persevere in the face of tragedy. I was in 8th grade when my little brother was killed in a rollover RV accident 5 years ago trying to get to my football game in Texas after I made the US National Football Team. Losing my best friend and little brother left me distraught, but with a newfound appreciation for how fleeting life can be, and how important it is to make an impact while we are here. Everything I do now is in honor of his memory which fills me with the drive to succeed and help others to make him proud. After Evan’s passing, I dedicated over 500 community service hours to rebuilding the desert tortoise rehabilitation pens at The Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert, California for my Eagle Scout Project. The desert tortoise is our State Reptile and is endangered, but more than that, my little brother fell in love with them when he did his first-grade school project on them, and I knew I had to find a way to help them. My love of making an impact has also benefitted the non-profit American Brain Tumor Association. After finding out my mom had an inoperable benign brain tumor, I began advocating at the age of 5 and dedicated hundreds of hours of community service to raising awareness in the community and funds totaling over $11,000 for research for better treatment options and to ultimately find a cure—not just for brain tumors, but all types of cancer. Throughout high school, I have carried a full courseload including AP and IB coursework, while maintaining a 3.67 cumulative GPA, playing Varsity football, and working as a concierge and barback. I learned how to effectively balance my time between work, school, community service, sports, scouting, and philanthropy, all while adapting to life without my brother and feeling the devastating impact of my parent’s subsequent divorce. I’m thoroughly enjoying my high school EMT class and working toward my certification to get me one step closer to realizing this dream. I should pass certification by the end of May and plan to start working on an ambulance to earn 1,200 paid hours so I can enter the year long paramedic program at Palomar College. In addition to earning my Paramedic license, I plan to obtain both an AS degree in Fire Science and an AS degree in Business Administration, before applying for acceptance to Palomar’s Fire Academy. Helping others has been a lifelong calling and I’m excited to embark on this career path of fighting fires to help our community and saving lives to help our citizens. I’m thankful for the work experience and connections I’ve made through my EMT internship at Riverside University Health Sytem Hospital, a level-one trauma center, and with AMR ambulance. My lifelong goal is to continue to share my passion for helping others by becoming a firefighter and earning my bachelor’s in business administration, so I can move up the ranks in the department I end up working for. I want to be able to save as many lives as possible in the hope that other families don’t have to say good-bye to their loved ones prematurely.

As a graduating senior, I feel incredibly honored to be entering the first responder job field. I am lucky enough that this year I was able to dual-enroll in the Center Line High School Fire Academy. The CLHS Fire Academy offers juniors and seniors the opportunity to complete the fire academy while they are still in high school. I began the academy a little apprehensive and nervous about choosing a career as a first responder, very quickly after I joined I realized I had made the right decision and I had found a career I was eager to jump into. My instructors have been a guiding force in showing me all the opportunities I will have as I advance in this service, and have taught me about what it truly means to be a leader and successful first responder. In the beginning of the school year, me along with my peers struggled with the new concepts of the fire academy and felt incredibly challenged by tasks that were often daunting. But with time we learned how to overcome our fears and successfully complete those tasks. I did so through leadership positions. Every year my instructor offers the cadets the chance to become an officer of the class. Becoming an officer was a major event in my time at the academy that really helped me realize why I wanted to be a first responder. Me, along with three other cadets were selected after a board interview and essay process to become Lieutenants, where we each were in charge of an "engine company," and were tasked with helping instruct other students in training. Later on in the year, I was selected out of the group of Lieutenants to be promoted to Cadet Captain. Both positions as Lieutenant and Captain taught me incredible lessons on what it meant to be a positive leader and a problem solver. My biggest lesson I learned was that there is always more room to learn. My instructors always made sure we knew that fire school never ends, and there will always be something new and exciting to further my education as a firefighter and EMT. As an officer of the academy it was important to me that I remember that lesson. Even though I was promoted, me and my fellow cadets are all learning together and are all on the same playing field. Navigating the fire academy takes teamwork and as a leader I want to promote the idea that we were all in it together. All the time spent together with my academy is the reason why I love this career so much and why I am so excited to become a first responder. Every day in the classroom brought new challenges to solve together and created a long lasting bond as friends that we will carry with us as we graduate and become working adults. I am equally as excited to become and EMT as becoming a firefighter. I recently discovered how interesting emergency medicine is, and I am ready to begin this new chapter in my life. I am glad to see that there are other students in the world like me, who began this journey in high school and found a career where they truly belong. While it was very scary in the beginning, I discovered the best job in the world. Me and Skylar share the same dream to help our communities and this scholarship will allow me to pay for EMT class, continue my education, and chase my dreams as a first responder.