Where are you from? Michigan

What is your role in the department? I started in 2020 as a volunteer and then got hired full-time this past summer as a Firefighter/EMT-I. 

What made you want to join JH Fire/EMS? I grew up around the fire service; I’ve always wanted to get into it and it was finally a good opportunity to make it happen. My grandpa was a firefighter for over 60 years in the town I grew up in and my dad is also a volunteer firefighter. He started in our town, left the service for a while, and is now a volunteer in Central Illinois. I am probably one of those kids that probably will get cancer because my grandpa kept his bunkers in the house and I would always steal them and put them on.

What are your current certs? EMT-I, Redcard, Fire1, Fire 2, Ropes Rescue Technician, Hazmat, and I will be recertifying my Swiftwater Rescue Technician cert as soon as I get the opportunity.

What are your future goals in the department? Eventually I want to be a (para)medic, but I’m not sure yet. I just want to be good at what I do.

Do you have any side hustles? I am a ski instructor at JHMR, an ambassador for Rossignol, and I teach wilderness medicine for Desert Mountain Medicine. 

What do you do in your free time? Ski, bike, raft, play with my dogs.

Favorite part of the job/volunteering? I feel like it’s all of it…the everyday is so different. 

Most satisfying? I think probably the most rewarding is helping people on their worst day and making it a little bit better. 

What advice would you give new recruits? Word hard and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

What do you wish you had known when starting? I wish I felt ok not knowing everything. 

What is the most valuable trait for someone on the department? Being flexible and being willing to do what needs to get done, even if it’s not the most fun thing. 

Since being hired, have any parts of the job surprised you? Not really…I’m a watcher, so I tend to kind of grasp a lot of things that people don’t necessarily catch. I like to have a good grasp of something before I jump into it which obviously can’t always happen. So I feel like job-wise, nothing has surprised me because of that tendency.