This woman is on fire! She is a mom, a CNA, an EMT, and an EMT Field Training Officer. Her journey has taken her all over the country and after working in hospitality and sitting in college classrooms, she realized that she wanted to help people and be on the front line.
As a Certified Nursing Assistant working in the ICU, she interacted with EMTs. She enjoyed their banter, their sense of humor, and how they balanced their work and life. Several years later, she found her way into Assabet After Dark’s EMT training class. Owner of MetroWest EMS Educators, Bob Gemma and his brother Tony were the EMT instructors. It was the right schedule with the right instructors. Their commitment to each and every student was a winning combination for Jescelle. Her testimony was spontaneous – “They were real guys that would level with you, my kind of people.”
The EMT class was not as easy as she thought and somewhat stressful. Students were encouraged to go home and practice, over and over. She convinced her 2-year-old daughter to play the patient and she practiced. Today, her daughter, age 5, knows how do compressions.
She remembers one class dedicated to learning how to think outside the box. The situation was that there were no more splints in the ambulance. The challenge was – what are you going to do? At the time, she really didn’t think it was an essential lesson, but when COVID-19 hit, she knew it was an essential skill.
Jescelle has found her passion and herself; preferring a fast paced, high stress position where she responds to people facing trauma. Each night when she returns home, she leaves her boots in the garage and drops her clothing into the washing machine before she enters her home. She and her daughter have found a routine that keeps the chaos at bay and allows them to be there for each other.
