I am a 26 year old student who is attempting to finish my bachelor's degree. I have a wonderful husband and a 3 year old daughter. I work full time as a firefighter paramedic. I also have 2 part time jobs to make sure I can provide my family with the life they deserve. At 13 years old, my parents decided to divorce. The divorce caused my dad and I to move west. We started a new life just him and I. Until he remarried. That's a story for another day. I started working full time at 15 years old while attending school full time. I began volunteering with the local fire department at 15 also. I knew life was hard and in order to make it, I had to pave my own way. I started my career in the fire service out of high school. Working for the local EMS company, doing what I love, is fantastic however; the pay is okay.... I know the only way to move up is to educate myself. My goal is to finish my degree in Emergency Management so I may promote and continue to provide for my family. I want to be able to set an example to my daughter and show her that any thing is possible. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication but, it can be done. She is my biggest motivator. I never want her to look and say "my mom did the bare minimum." I want her to know I did my best and gave my all in all aspects of my life. That is why I continue to work full time , part time , and study as a full time student.

In 2014, I decided to join the fire department. I was a lost soul. A 15 year old girl with no where to go and no goals to achieve. I was constantly looking for trouble. A man came to my high school and presented me with information about the local volunteer fire company. He encouraged me to do a "ride along." I told him I would consider but some thing pulled me to the fire service. After my ride along, I took the plunge and joined. I have been a volunteer firefighter for 10 years now. I will spare you the gruesome calls I have run and share with you one that sits heavy with my heart. My crew and I were dispatched to the local apartment complex for a child with loss of consciousness. We arrived on scene to find a woman carrying a limp infant. The infant was only a few months old. The mother, was a friend of mind from high school. She handed me the infant and begged me to save her child. She explained the back story to me and all the child's medical history. Immediately, we began CPR on the infant. We provided rescue breathing and administered epinephrine. While caring for the child, I realized we had a second patient; the mother. She was not ill like the child so to say but she was now mentally unstable. (Rightfully so.) While caring for her child, I also cared for her. I made sure to walk her through every part of the care we were doing. Constantly, she was reassured. Finally, we were able to get a pulse back on the infant. The mom, was monitored as well. The infant made a full recovery and has started 1st grade. That mom, is now heavily involved in education regarding caring for infants, safe sleep practices, and CPR for infants and children. She also has finished her degree in social work. She came back and visited the crew to say thank you but to also let us know her reasoning behind her new career choice. She advised she wanted to make sure she could impact others the way we did her. That is one of my bigger cases. I also enjoy teaching at Children's Village of Washington County. (CV) CV is a program for all second graders in Washington County. We teach fire safety, how to make escape plans if there is a fire, how to call 9-1-1, stranger danger, familiarization with fire gear and police gear, how to check smoke detectors, stop-drop-and-roll, and so much more. I teach at CV at least twice a month. I really enjoy when I run calls or am out in public and one of the students recognize me. There have been a few times when the children have used their knowledge from CV to call 9-1-1 and save a life. I live my life serving my community and those around me. It is my purpose and my joy. I hope to continue doing so and to pass this passion to my daughter. Thank you.

The fire service is a field unlike any other. It is sacred. The traditions of the fire service run deep; they do not like change, but they are constantly being challenged. To belong in the fire service, is to see the traditions, respect them, follow them but be willing to grow with the new world. I joined the fire service at 15 years old. I was a high schooler with no goals and always looking for trouble. On a whim, I applied to the high school fire academy. I didn't think I would be accepted. Surprisingly, I was. From that day forward, my future changed forever. There was no going back. One of the lessons I learned early on was that the old people aren't just "old people." They are the ones you want to talk to and learn from. They are the ones that have seen it all and done it all. Most of them, have sacrificed more than we could ever imagine to be where they are; including family time, their kid's birthday parties, social events, medical appointments etc . They are the ones who decide if you are worth their time and energy. They are the back bone of the fire department. If the "old guys." the "salty firemen," decide you aren't worth the investment, you will not succeed. The only way to make them decide you are worth investing in, is to show them you are. Show up. Be present. Be respectful. Admit when you are wrong or when you don't know something. Then, they take you under their wings and the magic happens. Once, I started to learn from my mentors and really prove I wanted to be there, everything changed. Something snapped. I wasn't the young, dumb, troubled child any more. I was their "adopted daughter." I was their friend. I knew I had people I could count on. Which wasn't something I had before. I never once doubted if someone was going to help me when I needed it. To belong in the fire service, is to be apart of a family. I don't mean a family like what those toxic work places call themselves either. The fire service is a family you can count on. When my home flooded, I called my fire department family. They showed up and helped me clean up and taught me what homeowners insurance was. When my daughter was born, a traumatic birth, they covered my shifts until I could return but also came and helped me at home also. When I lost my good friend and mentor, Shakey, a paramedic, they held my hand and held me while I mourned and made sure when I graduated my paramedic program, a part of him was there, Belonging in the fire service isn't for the weak. It is however; the best thing anyone could ever do. My advice to all the new people looking to join or who have joined is to take the time to get to know the "old folks." Take the time to show up, be present, and learn. Trust that you do not know everything. Respect your crew. Never ever , ever , stop learning. The service is hard enough with the calls we run and things we see but the fire service family will ALWAYS be there to catch you when you fall.