Meet Alecia Downey, a certified emergency medical technician. Downey moved to Michigan in 2017 with her husband and three children. At the time she was working as a lead preschool teacher at a daycare facility. She knew she wanted a change of career, but didn’t know what she wanted to do.
She decided to enroll at Schoolcraft College to pursue a degree in elementary education. After starting her classes, she realized that education was not her calling and began thinking about a career in healthcare. After some research, she found that Henry Ford Hospital offered the program but required a two-year degree in a medical field.
Downey met with a Schoolcraft College counselor and discussed her options. She was told that the emergency medical program would be a good choice for her end goal of sonography. She registered for EMT115 that next semester. She was nervous at orientation. They were told what to expect throughout the program, about the uniforms they’d wear, the immunizations that were required and all of the training that they would have to through.
Downey knew it would be a rigorous course. She was asked what her reason was for wanting to become an EMT. Downey had several. As a two-time cancer survivor, she had been influenced by many people in the medical field throughout her childhood. She’d had Neuroblastoma as an infant and Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at 15. So she know she wanted to do something to help others. Another reason she wanted become an EMT was the inspiration of her mom, who had recently passed away and had been a nurse.
Downey soon realized that it was going to be a lot of work to reach her goal. There was a lot of studying, workbook homework, papers to write and group projects. “This was real-world stuff,” Downey said, “Intubating, CPR, patient extraction out of vehicles, defibrillating, and ultimately saving lives.” Downey says her professor Tom Worthington was “awesome, helpful and so full of knowledge.” She is currently still attending Schoolcraft College and is in her third semester of the Paramedic program.
Even though it was difficult, Downey passed and received her certificate of completion, which allowed her to be eligible to take the National Registry exam. She signed up and took the exam two weeks after the end of classes. Although she thought she was prepared, the exam turned out to be much harder than she expected and she did not pass.
But Downey didn’t give up. She broke out the books, got extra tutoring and studied harder than she had ever studied in her life. She knew her hard work had paid off when she read, “Congratulations on successfully earning your certification as an emergency medical technician.” She literally squealed with joy! Later that day she got a letter from Schoolcraft College stating that she had made the Dean’s List for academic achievement of a 3.5+ GPA.
During the second semester, COVID-19 spiked in the U.S. As quarantine began, classes were converted to distance learning formats and Downey worked full-time as an EMT at Star EMS.
“Being on the front line of this outbreak was hard,” she said. “Watching people get the virus and unable to overcome it was heartbreaking. We had put in so many precautions to try to protect ourselves from getting the virus by implementing the use of N-95 masks, hazmat suits and face shields. We did not have these supplies readily available at the start of the outbreak, which made it very stressful for anyone working the front lines. Eventually we were supplied with all the necessary tools and appropriate PPE. Certain protocols have also been put in place when treating patients suspected of or having the virus.”
If the coronavirus has taught her anything, it is to “never take a single day for granted. Never to take your health for granted, and to always let those you love and care about know what they mean to you.”
Downey’s advice to future Ocelots is to, “Never give up. Keep going. Keep pushing. Keep trying no matter how hard it might be.” Good advice from someone who did just that to achieve her goals.