VVHS Students Recognized For Completing EMT Class

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

A group of hard-working and goal-oriented local youth attended a Mesquite City Council meeting last month to be recognized for a landmark achievement. Nine Virgin Valley High School students were lauded for completing the demanding EMT Basic course offered by the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) during the school day this year at VVHS.

“Over the past year, these nine students and one full-time employee of CCSD, have taken this difficult course,” said Mesquite Fire Chief Jayson Andrus. “We wanted to recognize them here for that.”

Bringing this course to the community required a collaboration between the Virgin Valley High School administrators, CSN Mesquite Center, and the Mesquite Fire and Rescue Department, Andrus said.
“Melanie Robison has been the lead instructor for CSN in this class, and she has done a phenomenal job,” Andrus said.

Andrus added that the course was an important gateway to a large number of career paths for the students. These include the military, law enforcement, paramedics, health care and more.
“Our goal is to recruit them to the Mesquite Fire Department; that is our objective,” Andrus said. “So that is the ‘why’ for us.”

Robison said that each of the students had put in over 200 hours of education and training in the program. This includes ride-alongs with EMTs at the local fire department where the students got experience shifts in treating real patients on 911 calls.

“This is the first time that CSN has partnered with a high school to do an EMT program like this,” Robison said. “I have to admit I didn’t entirely know what to expect. But it has been a joy and a pleasure.”

The VVHS seniors who worked to complete the course were all in attendance. They included Esteban Gasca, Briseida Gomez, Hanna Iverson, Adrian Landeros, Javin Laub, Aranza Mendez, Ianelli Partida Melendrez, Vinnie Piazza and Natalia Zarate. Also completing the class was CCSD teacher Katelyn Leavitt who was recognized at the meeting.

Andrus presented each of these graduates with a certificate of completion and a $10 gift certificate for Cafe Rio to celebrate the accomplishment.

“If we want to keep our young people in Mesquite, these are the programs that we need,” commented Mesquite Mayor Al Litman after the presentation. “Because there will be a place for them guaranteed here in the community.”