Jenna Yingling, Emergency Services Student
Hurricane Harvey changed the lives of millions of Americans across the country in 2017. At home in Toledo, it changed Jenna Yingling’s life, too.
Like many Americans, she watched the news coverage of the Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana, causing $125 billion in damage and more than 100 fatalities. The resulting floods displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.
Yingling said one of the news media stories that caught her attention was the first responders rushing south to help.
“The idea of being equipped with the knowledge about how to deal with a mass casualty situation like that seemed like something I really would love to do,” she said. “All the local agencies were overrun and needed people to be able to go help those whose lives were literally washed away.”
At the time, she was starting the Owens’ pre-Radiologic Technology program, when a friend suggested that she could become an EMT to learn how to help those in need. The suggestion changed the course of her life forever.
Realizing being a first responder was her calling, Yingling made the switch to the Owens Emergency Services program. She will graduate as a paramedic this month and plans to enter the fire service within the next year.
“I want to do something bigger than myself. EMS changed my view on life,” she said.
Yingling, 27, did not plan to attend college after graduating from Sylvania Southview High School in 2010. Nine years later, she will earn her associate degree with honors (grade-point average above 3.5) and in doing so become the first college graduate in her family.
Owens students benefit from instructors with real-world experience, like Yingling’s favorite instructor, adjunct faculty member Heidi Hess, paramedic. Hess started her career in the male-dominated EMS field in 1978 and served 22 years in the Springfield Township Fire Department before retiring in 2014 as captain. A fixture in the local fire and EMS community, she was inducted into the EMS Wall of Honor at the University of Toledo Medical Center in 2017. She has taught at Owens since 1988.
Approximately one-third of all EMTs and one-quarter of licensed paramedics are female. Only 5 percent of firefighters are females.
“She’s a strong, educated woman,” Hess said of Yingling “You have to be able to stand up on your own in fire and EMS. She’s bright, she’s confident, she’s personable. That will go a long way in the fire service.”
Emergency Services students train at the College’s Center for Emergency Preparedness (CEP), a facility designed to present realistic, hands-on emergency response training scenarios. The men and women who protect and serve local communities learn practical solutions at the CEP so they can adapt to their ever-changing professional challenges.
Yingling currently works for a private ambulance company to gain professional experience. Her next goal after graduation is to be a member of the 2020 Toledo Fire Academy class for the city of Toledo Fire Department. She was stationed with Life Squad 4 at Toledo Fire’s Station 16 on Dorr Street for a majority of her Owens field experience.
It’s a year-long process to get a seat in the Toledo Fire Academy class.
“I had an amazing experience with Toledo Fire. Loved the people. Loved the atmosphere,” said Yingling. “The camaraderie and brotherhood of the fire department, they’re your family. You work as a team. You have each other’s backs in dangerous situations. You save lives. It’s absolutely what I want to do.”
Learn more about Emergency Services Technology >>
Learn more about Emergency Medical Technician – Basic Certificate >>
Learn more about Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic Certificate >>
Learn more about Firefighter I Certificate >>
Learn more about Firefighter II Certificate >>
Published December 2019