Students, parents, and the community were given the chance to stand beside people who answer the call to duty when their community needs help most on Tuesday for First Responders Day in Newcomb.
Newcomb High School hosted the event for the first time this year and brought together more than a dozen local, state, and federal agencies for a four-hour event designed to connect students with career pathways in public safety and emergency services.
The event featured interactive demonstrations, hands-on equipment displays, career information, and direct conversations with first responders representing law enforcement, firefighting, emergency medicine, federal agencies, and the military.
Students saw firsthand what tools and vehicles professionals use daily and what it takes to build a career in emergency service.
Lanielle Blackwater, Kirtland Central High School student, said the information she received that day was helpful.
“I was wanting to pursue pediatric nursing,” she said. “So far to get to it I’ve just done multiple programs and the program at Bond Wilson (Technical Center).”
Kirtand City High School student Kali’iani Begaye said she visited booths and learned about the agencies with demonstrations of the careers they offer.
Begaye said it was interesting to see what EMS had to offer and plans to learn more.
Tysaiah Wartze, student and command sergeant major for KCHS Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said the event was helpful for the elementary and middle school students who were there that day.
“For the high school kids it gives them a head start on what they want to do in the future,” she said. “From my experience it’s really fun seeing so many happy faces.”
The event was organized by Lead Safety adviser Jeff Wood in efforts to reflect the district commitment to expanding opportunities for Newcomb students.
Wood said students were asking a variety of questions that day and hopes to bring it back for another year.
“One of the main goals is to show the community that here in Newcomb we have all these resources available to them,” he said. “I wanted to plant a seed in the students to let them know that there is more than just Newcomb – that they could branch out.”
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