And Audrey, a Ross High School senior, says she was inspired by her mother’s firefighting career – now in its 23rd year of serving the Butler County city – to learn in both Butler Tech’s EMT and Bioscience medical programs.
“I grew up going hanging around the firehouse and she helped me decide my career. But I wanted to be on the medical side and she suggested me being a (medical emergency helicopter) flight nurse,” said Audrey, who splits her school days between the EMT classes at Butler Tech’s D. Russel Lee in Fairfield Twp. and West Chester Twp.’s Bioscience campuses.
Her mother’s career has made firehouses like a second home to her, Audrey said.
“It’s definitely fun to work with my mom’s second family. I’m very proud of her because it’s a very hard field to be in. And then she works here (Butler Tech) too and then to also be a mom. It’s amazing to see how much she can do and make it look easy.”
Her unusual upbringing raised in her a passion for pursuing a career she hopes after college will eventually see her working as critical care nurse first responder on medical emergency flights.
“I’ve always wanted to help people in general but I didn’t know I wanted to be a flight nurse until my freshman year,” said Audrey.
She said her mother’s career in firefighting – and her part-time EMT classroom assistant work at the career school – has proven to be both an inspiration and a helpful mentor all packaged into her mother.
“When she goes on her (fire) runs I get more inspired to do what I want to do. And if I need help with learning EMT she knows how to help me,” said Audrey, who will study for a four-year nursing degree at Otterbein College after graduating high school this spring.
For her mother, it’s all a labor of love.
Garcia beams with pride as she describes her daughter and occasional classroom student as “awesome.”
“I can see how well she will do it because she is very talented and she is able to work with people very well,” said Garcia.
“Most of all, I see her passion for it.”
So does Audrey’s Butler Tech EMT Instructor Chris Freeze.
“It’s pretty cool. Not only is Audrey getting her education here but she can go home and get it from mom too,” said Freeze, who is a former firefighter.
“It’s a unique situation. We see some father and son situations, but this is the first mother and daughter one I’ve ever seen.”
“Audrey is one of the hardest working kids we have here.”
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