Project Overview
Although some students may dread having to shadow for at least 20 hours, I was extremely excited to chose a mentor. In the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure what career I was going to choose. As the summer came closer, I decided I was going to choose a mentor in the career of firefighting. I had always thought it would be interesting to being a firefighter, but I never expected it to be this much fun.
My mentor, Kyle Hansen, is a good family friend of ours who has been a firefighter for about 16 years. He works at station nine for the Tucson Fire Department. When I told him I was interested in shadowing him, he was more happy to let me ride along with him and the crew.
I showed up on my first day not quite sure what to expect. All the men and women at the station were excited to have me around and show me what their job entitles. While I was in the station, we got called out of the station about 25 times in just ten hours. The majority of the calls were for elderly people who were having heart problems or trouble breathing. However, it was amazing to see how many times firefighters get called to situations that aren’t even emergencies. Once we were called because I lady’s baby wouldn’t stop crying. When we showed up, it turned out that it was just because her daughter was teething.
I learned so much during my shadowing and had such a great time. I never thought I would want to be a firefighter until now. I know that being a firefighter would be difficult at times, but it seems like something I would love doing. I think one of the reasons I am so attracted to this career is because every day is different. Have to do this project has really helped me for the future.