Most people call 911 on the worst day of their lives. Riley Fitzgerald knows that.
The North Scott High School graduate has spent the last two years volunteering with the Eldridge Fire Department. The experience gave him an up-close look at emergency response and the people who answer those calls. It also confirmed the kind of work he wants to do.
“I’ve always been interested in the medical field or being a first responder,” Fitzgerald said. “I got onto the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department when I was 16, and from there I knew this was definitely kind of the role that I want to take.”
Before graduating high school, Fitzgerald found a way to start preparing for that future. Through Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ (EICC) Career Academy program, he earned an Emergency Medical Technician Certificate while still attending North Scott. His long-term goal is to become a police officer and eventually work as a crisis negotiator.
“I loved the opportunity to try and get ahead of my goals,” Fitzgerald said. “When I heard about the EMT classes, I was like, this is perfect. I can get ahead of the game and get going with it sooner.”
The EMT Career Academy offered college credit and an industry credential before graduation. It also helped Fitzgerald save time and money while exploring a field tied directly to the career he hopes to pursue.
“Not having to pay thousands of dollars for it and just being able to do what I love and getting a head start on that, so it doesn’t take me as long to achieve that goal,” he said.
The Academy is offered at North Scott High School’s Regional Innovation Center in Eldridge, built in partnership with EICC. That made the opportunity even more accessible for a student already balancing high school, work, and volunteering at the fire department.
A typical day started early. Fitzgerald woke up around 6:30 a.m., got ready, and headed to EMT class by 7:30. After class, he returned to North Scott for the rest of his high school schedule, including business law and time as a teacher's helper. Outside of school, he worked at Aqua Tech Car Wash and continued volunteering with the fire department.
The schedule kept him busy.
“This year, taking the EMT program, it has been a little stressful and a little difficult,” Fitzgerald said. “But you learn to adapt and get used to it — you learn how to study for both high school and college classes.”
Those skills mattered. So did the reason he was there.
To Fitzgerald, the connection between emergency medical training and law enforcement is clear. In many rural Iowa counties, first responders are often the first people on scene. Medical help may still be minutes away. He did not want to be someone who could only wait.
“I don’t just want to stand there and just know a little bit,” Fitzgerald said. “I want to be able to actually help before medical arrives.”
Inside the EMT Academy, Fitzgerald found support from instructor Katie Hulett and classmates who were learning the same work. He credits Hulett with creating an environment where students wanted to succeed.
“She is awesome within the class,” Fitzgerald said. “She makes it fun, makes it so that all of us want to actually be there and show up.”
The cohort also became part of the experience. Students went to class together, studied together, practiced emergency scenarios, and learned how to work as a team. Some of those study sessions happened at the Eldridge Fire Department.
Emergency response is not individual work.
“You have to have that bond in our scenarios and skills,” Fitzgerald said. “So we can actually work together during it.”
The EMT Academy gave Fitzgerald more than technical skills. It gave him confidence.
Confidence to manage college-level coursework.
Confidence to step into unfamiliar situations.
Confidence that he belongs in this work.
This fall, Fitzgerald will continue at EICC in the Criminal Justice program. For students considering a Career Academy, his advice is simple.
“It might sound scary trying to balance both high school life and college life,” Fitzgerald said. “The first week or two may be a little stressful or scary, but after that, you get the hang of it, and it goes by smooth.”
For Fitzgerald, the EMT certificate was never the destination. It was the beginning. One day, someone will call 911 on the worst day of their life, and he will be there.
“I want to give back to the community,” Fitzgerald said. “Being that shoulder to lean on in a moment of crisis — or in a moment of need — and being there to make their day a little better is everything to me.”