My name is Alexis. I am from a small town, Belton Texas. I attend Belton High School and Temple College working on getting both my diploma and associates degree in May 2026. I new from a young age I wanted to help people, however I didn't know how. In college I found out I enjoyed medicine. I started to look for something I could do in my community similar to that. My first stop was my High School where I found Athletic Training. My love for the emergency response first started when I joined Athletic Training at my school. In Athletic Training we are similarly an on-field nurse. We would respond to injuries on our school field. Athletic Training is one of the things where I feel passion about, I am not in my third year in. From there I started to get more of an idea on who I wanted to be. I started looking further out and found volunteer fire departments were in my area. I drove to the address and picked up an application, and submitted it the next day. I went through three interviews where in my final one they accepted me, and I started my learning journey. Once I was able to be voted on the department, I went on my first call later that day. It was a medical call priority three, my Chief was kind enough to let me ride in the command vehicle as it being my first call. I was able to watch in awe as the medics and my Chief gave medical support. As they were wrapping up the call my Chief asked if I wanted to watch inside the ambulance as they hooked the patient up to the monitors. Without hesitation I hopped through the back and started watching. This was a huge turning point, it completely infatuated me and at that point I realized this was something I could be passionate about. Since that day I spend my weekends that I don't work staffing at the station. I was originally in it for the medical knowledge but as we ran more calls I knew it wasn't just the medical calls I enjoyed. The first fire call I ran on was a small brush fire and my caption and I were the only ones on the call. As he put the truck in pump I got to handle the hose and put it out. I was consumed by the adrenaline and the satisfaction it brought me. Those calls are really what drew out my love for the fire service. I now am planning on getting my paramedic license then returning to the fire scene to get my fire certifications. The volunteer fire department has really shown me a side of myself that I have found to love. I want to make it a career one day and people to help people while still doing something I love.