PULSE Magazine | June/July 2019 Issue

I am honored to be apart of the Austin-Travis County EMS academy and here on graduation today. I feel fortunate to have gone through it all with my class, 0419. I couldn’t be more delighted and proud to have met you all and I am excited to call you all my colleagues. With some of us being on the communications side, & majority being in field, I am happy to have gone through it all together. We all have important roles to play, even if our duties lie in what seem to be different worlds, I cherish calling you all my team. Our first week here at the academy was unlike anything I had ever experienced. That first week was the first of many obstacles. PT being our number 1 obstacle, in a literal since. Although, I ran cross country and considered myself reasona- bly fit. Hilary and Sebasian’s programs left me the most sore and worn out I had been in a long time. Add in all the double timing we had to do in be- tween, my hamstrings were definitely calling out to me. I can recall the last time I had been so sore, when I thought it was an excellent idea to try out for my middle school basketball team. I am sure you can all guess how that turned out, considering I am here and not slam dunking baskets on a court somewhere. Plus, my skills may have had little to do with it. So forth, when I thought I had adjusted to the intense weeks of PT then came SWIFT water training. I think the term “SWIFT” will always send chills up my spine. So I think that's all that's left to say there.

Testing was nerve racking, yet in the heat of it all... we still rooted for one another. I am gratified to say that today we ended with the same number of cadets that we started with day one. Furthermore, fear and joking aside, I am over- joyed to be here in front of you all today. Friends, Family, colleagues...and my team. As we move forward into this next phase of our journey’s and into clearing, I have to thank the Cadre in playing such a beneficial role in shaping us along in these ten weeks. A special thank you to Captain Renard in Comms for pushing us Comm cadets along and sharing his experiences with us. His examples to me are priceless and something I can never forget as I continue to shape my skills. I want to thank T.O. Cluskey for briefing us Comm cadets on how to be dramatic actors during scenarios. Captain Crouch for being so attentive to us all; Captain Cinquina for pushing us all in PT along with her words of inspiration! And a big overwhelming Thank you to the rest of the academy staff, and everyone else who helped guide us along the way. I am so grateful to be apart of such a prestigious organization. Class 0419, let's continue to make slam dunks and show them what amazing medics we will all turn out to be! We did it guys!

Rose Bean

Rose Bean

Communications Medic

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