From Roots to Success: Harnessing Your Past to Make a Better Future

After graduating from high school, I attended Northern Arizona University as a Lumberjack Scholarship recipient. I was feeling blessed to be able to attend college as a first-generation college student with such an achievement but lost as to what I wanted to do. Thankfully, the famous “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question stayed in grade school because I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer if someone would have asked me as a freshman.

I took time to explore my options and took classes in many different disciplines. After some personal obstacles, I decided to move back down to the valley and try my luck in one last discipline. I enrolled at Paradise Valley Community College and plunged into their Emergency Medical Technician program. It seemed interesting, it seemed fun, it was challenging, and then I fell in love. This is where my passion for public service began.?

After completing my certification, I applied for my first job working in the field. It just so happened to be a student worker position with the Arizona State University Emergency Medical Services unit, and as luck would have it, I was transferring once again to ASU to complete a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Within these programs at ASU, my love for public servitude completely skyrocketed. I felt empowered, not only as a scholar but also as a woman in a predominately male career field. My peers took notice of my passion and my work ethic and eventually I began to raise through the ranks becoming an EMT Supervisor and then eventually the EMS Program Coordinator. My coordinator position carried me after my graduation from the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions in 2021 but eventually my urge to climb to the next rung of the ladder came back and I found myself wanting to move away from emergency medicine into the broader scope of Emergency Management.?

I applied to one of the country’s largest financial institutions to work as part of their Enterprise Crisis Management team and I now serve the bank’s community as part of that team. Keeping watch over their footprint to prepare for and respond to any event that may have an impact to assets or employee safety.??When asked to describe my career goals, I find it fitting to tell you about my history. My goal is to keep climbing the ladder, to keep putting one foot in front of the other until there are no more rungs to be conquered. I would like to continue to grow in my Emergency Management career, expanding my knowledge base to include both public and private sector experience. Instead of being a member of a team I want to lead a team based on the knowledge I have built below me.?

My long-term professional development strategy is to better myself and expand my thinking to be more innovative and inclusive. I want to acquire the coveted certifications and degrees that will help me succeed and achieve my goals. In sum, my strategy includes collecting one tool at a time to expand the construction of my Emergency Management career. Achieving a Master of Arts in Emergency Management and Homeland Security is the next tool I am shopping for and there is no place I would rather receive that designation.?