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Staff Testimonials:
Nadina Bhadrasain – Hello! My name is Nadina and I started volunteering with Southbury Ambulance around two years ago. As a high school student, I was looking for ways that I could give back to my community and I came across SAA. I figured it would work well with my school schedule and volunteering with SAA is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. EMS is an exciting way to directly give back to the community, and it teaches you skills that will benefit you in the long-run. SAA feels like a second home, and everyone here is so compassionate. They truly care about your wellbeing and if feels like being part of a family. I’ve never been a part of an organization that prioritizes my mental health as much as SAA does. Teamwork is key here, and everyone is so welcoming and caring, that teamwork is never an issue. My goals after volunteering at SAA are to go to college, so while SAA is just a stepping stone for me, I’m going to miss being a part of the family and I hope to still be involved with the organization in the future. My time with SAA has led to me feeling more connected with the community, and after seeing the noble work everyone does, it inspired me to want to become a volunteer EMT.
Bryce Bisset – Medicine has always been a field that fascinated me for a variety of reasons. My family on my dad’s side was involved in Post 53, a student-led EMS service operation out of Darien, CT that, at the time, would regularly have its students dispatch from school in the middle of classes to respond to emergencies. I thought this was the coolest thing ever, both for the unique skillset that my relatives and other student EMT’s had mastered, as well as their ability to get out of class on a whim. However, even before I heard my family’s stories about Post 53, I knew that I would want to be involved with healthcare, but EMS provided a path to take my first steps into the field.
I started my EMS journey with the EMT course offered by Newtown Ambulance at 17, where I trained alongside peers from my school, and other members of my community. After finishing the course and obtaining my certification, my focus shifted to my undergraduate degree at UCONN and the pre-med courses I needed to apply to medical school. The breaks I had between semesters were often filled with work, or isolation due to COVID, so I had difficulty getting involved in EMS as much as I would have liked. However, during my junior year, the staff at Southbury Ambulance was willing to hear my story, understand my motivation, and accept that my involvement in EMS would be limited, but dedicated when I had the opportunity to volunteer. Since my graduation, while working full time and applying to medical schools, Southbury has been my home away from home on weekends, where I obtain incredible opportunities to learn from skilled paramedics and experienced EMT’s, and further my patient care skills in every call I respond to. While SAA is the first step in my journey to practice as physician, the skillset and knowledge I’ve obtained in my time as a volunteer has given me an incredible foundation for the rest of the career.
I’m glad that I’ve had a chance to be a part of a community of caretakers that allows its members to thrive. I always feel supported by the team running SAA, and the service providers that work side by side with me for each call. I’ve learned so much and continue to learn every day, and can’t express how powerful of an impact volunteering as an EMT as SAA has had on my motivation for a career in medicine.
Gordon Jones – I joined Southbury Ambulance in 2011, was trained as an EMR, and subsequently served as an EMT. I wanted to give back to our community in a more substantial way than just writing a donation check. It has been a most fulfilling experience, second only to being a parent. The rewards have been many, but the most satisfying was always the “thank you” from the patient as they’re transferred to the care of a clinic or hospital. Belonging to a team helping those in need has no equal, and was unimaginably rewarding and life-changing.