I've been a part of Western EMS as the
advisor for about 12 years now. I think
it really offers a lot of opportunities,
first-hand experience, you know actually
getting to do some of the things that
people want to do. I don't think you get
that opportunity very often. I know that
you know when you come to college
sometimes you have questions and this
can help answer some of those questions,
so it just really gives them a hands-on
experience what they may really want to
do. Western emergency medical services
provide a lot of services in addition to
overnight we stage at football games
volleyball games lacrosse games soccer
anything that you can think of we are
also available upon request to if
there's some sort of event
it's gonna need some emergency medical
coverage we can go and do those two. I
think it's important for students to get
involved not only to expose yourself to
new experiences but I have made tons and
tons of friends and learned a lot from
the organization that I chose to be in
so I think it's just really important to
get involved in order to expose yourself
to new experiences as the advisor for
Western EMS you know I think it's really
important to be involved in other things
outside of just the specific work
because it gives me an opportunity to
interact with students in a very
positive way you know I get the
opportunity to be a teacher a little bit
I get to show people how to kind of lead
become a real role model an example for
the other people that they work with and
and to learn you know that there's more
than just books and and they get the
opportunity to see some of that it's
important for us to provide this service
because first of all we're the first
ones there and seconds can save lives
but on top of that we're getting
experience that's going to contribute to
our futures as well whether you're going
into law enforcement or not or fire
services or not using everything that
you have learned is really important and
just applying that to your futures and
it's an awesome it's an awesome
opportunity you know as the advisor I
really look at this is a completely
student-run organization I simply do
that I advise I you know I try to guide
them I answer questions I really try to
let them take the role of being in
charge of the organization and she's
the captain the organization everybody
looks to her for those answers they
don't look to me for those answers and I
help just sort of when she doesn't maybe
know something because it's something
related to you know somebody to talk to
on campus or somebody talked to in the
community
and really direct her and in that way
our membership is not offered just to
only people that have past experience
you can walk in off the street and if we
think that you'll be a good candidate
we'll put you through our free first
responder class and people can choose to
move on from there and get higher
education or not that's okay but we do
provide that free class and I think
that's a really good opportunity for
people in that class is a certified
state-certified 40-hour course you know
when you get done with that you you know
you're certified as a first responder by
the state and in CPR and the use of an
ad so you take something away with you
you get to leave with something in that
certification and all those things that
you learn you take out onto the street
with you or onto calls and potentially
you're going to use all those skills
that you've learned and that's just
rewarding Western EMS currently has
about 50 members it fluctuates every
semester but the first thing that you're
going to want to do if you are
interested in becoming a member is to
you can email the account and get
information but every semester we do
have an interest meeting so we'll have
fliers put up around all over campus
with information about that you can get
an application from o-p-s as well and
then we hire every semester so it's
pretty easy you know it offers something
more to students than just something to
build a resume you know I I think that
if you know how to prepare for an
interview and you can say the things
that you've been able to do in Western
EMS you know you know if you're if
you're going in law enforcement per say
you know you respond to emergency
situations with people who are highly
emotional and and maybe have difficulty
communicating what they need to
communicate and you have to filter
through that that's what you do in law
enforcement
time and fire you're doing similar
things you know you're up in the middle
a moment's notice you know you're
responding to an emergency and you know
you have to be prepared to deal with
that emergency calmly collectively and
be ready for that and that transfers
over to other things as well I mean even
education I mean obviously medical
pre-med things like that it really
provides a great opportunity in that
regard and so we do really encourage
anybody in any field to come because
it's an opportunity that you don't get
anywhere else I think that it's been
great to I guess really learn how to go
to a call that's not very pleasant and
be able to deal with that and learning
how to do that because anybody's gonna
need to develop those skills to be an
adult and I think that this organization
has helped me do all those things