EPCHS Student Intern Earns EMT Certification While Still In High School

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Sean Meierkort, an Evergreen Park Community High School student who is one of the first to participate in the school’s firefighter internship program, has received his Emergency Medical Technician certification.

Meierkort took his Emergency Medical Technician certification test on Dec. 15 and learned the next morning he passed the exam, becoming certified for EMT-related duties prior to the end of his first semester as a firefighter intern.

“For my whole life, I’ve had the desire to help people, and that’s why I wanted to become a firefighter,” Meierkort said. “Taking this test and becoming certified while still in high school is something I do not think would be possible without this internship program offered by EPCHS.”

The EMT certification means Meierkort is now included in the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, an organization that verifies the competency, including the knowledge, skills and abilities, to provide safe and effective patient care. The National Registry is a non-profit, non-governmental certification organization serving the emergency medical services (EMS) community.

It awards certifications to emergency medical responders, advanced emergency medical technicians and paramedics as well through validating the knowledge, skills and competency of EMS professionals and providing a uniform standard across states for emergency medical care.

“Sean’s achievement highlights exactly what we hope students gain through the firefighter internship program,” said Terence Masterson, a business/technology teacher at EPCHS who heads the internship program. “It’s been incredible to watch him fully embrace this opportunity and push himself to reach such an impressive milestone so early in the experience.”

EPCHS’ student internship program covers a wide range of study areas. In addition to the firefighter internship, EPCHS offers similar programs in social media/marketing, technology, construction, drafting and education. Students who are accepted into the internship program their senior year receive course credit in addition to valuable real-world experiences.

“The internship program offered by Evergreen Park Community High School is all about opening doors for students who want meaningful, real-world experiences that help them grow and turn their interests into real opportunities beyond the classroom, and Sean has shown exactly what’s possible when a student commits fully to that opportunity,” Masterson said. “His determination sets a powerful example for the firefighter interns who will follow in his footsteps and shows how real-world experience, fueled by a student’s drive to learn and serve, can open doors to their future.”

Meierkort said the firefighter internship program has allowed him to learn new things every day.

“I’m seeing so many things I’ve never seen before,” he said.

~ Contributed by Tim Moran | EPCHS