Liz Duncan attended Auburn Career Center’s high school program in Emergency Medical Services her junior and senior years. She became a certified EMT the same week she graduated high school. Liz discovered her passion for paramedics, but felt pressure to pursue a four-year degree, until a fateful event in class brought back to the career she loves. While at the University of Cincinnati, she sprung into action using her skills when a classmate fell to the floor having a seizure. After that experience, she realized she had known her pathway all along and returned to Auburn to pursue further training in the OTC program, including the firefighting program, a requirement for being a paramedic. 

“It’s a requirement to work at a fire department. As a paramedic, you have to have your fire card.

And so my last step was getting my fire card, and I was kind of avoiding it for a few years,” Liz said. “Being a girl in fire, it’s pretty intimidating, but everything I’ve wanted to do, I’ve been able to achieve that goal. I’m excited to finally be a healthcare professional. I feel proud and honored. Everything is a path towards another thing, and I just want to see where it leads me.”

Liz’s story was featured on the Ohio American Graduate Getting to Work (ideastream, CET, WOSU) series “From Here to Career”. You can watch it below.