On Wednesday April 18 The Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry’s (CCCBI) Youth Leadership Program came to the Government Services Center to learn more about the Department of Emergency Services. The CCCBI Youth Leadership program focuses on creating business educational opportunities for Junior and Senior Chester County High School students. CCCBI Vice President Marianne Martelli, Chair of the Youth Leadership Committee, brought about 30 students from multiple public and private schools out for a day of tours and presentations focused on career opportunities within the Department of Emergency Services.
The day started with a welcome from Robert Kagel, Deputy Director of Emergency Management. The next portion explored the career field of law enforcement. Former Tredyffrin Police Lieutenant Mike Spirito, and current Deputy Director of Tech Services, gave the students insight on jobs within law enforcement on the local, state and federal levels. The group was then given tours of the 911 Center by Quality Analyst Aprille Kronmuller. The students were very fascinated in learning about how calls are answered and units were dispatched. In addition questions dealing with how call takers handled callers speaking foreign languages and how it is determined which unit will respond based on their respective municipalities.
After the tours the group got to engage in a table top exercise in the emergency operations center run by Volunteer Management Coordinator Janet Zeis. Once the exercise was completed students had the opportunity to learn more about careers in emergency management as well as volunteer opportunities with various organizations. The morning was then wrapped up with EMS Training Coordinator Rob Linnenbaugh and ALS Coordinator Harry Moore providing some insight into careers in the emergency medical services field. The usual question of “what was the worst or most memorable call you have been on” came up and the students were given an inside look as to what our first responders encounter while responding to emergency medical situations.
During lunch in the GSC cafeteria students had the opportunity to ask additional questions and get to know some of the other employees here at the GSC. The afternoon consisted of a presentation by Fire Training Coordinator Jeff Groves who spoke about his extensive career in the fire service and the multiple opportunities available to become either a career or volunteer fireman. Many students expressed interest in some of the live in or volunteer fire fighter opportunities available at colleges and universities throughout the nation. The day wrapped up with a presentation by Captain Joe Carbo of the Chester County Sherriff’s Office. Captain Carbo, also a former Tredyffrin police officer, focused his presentation on what the Sherriff’s office does and how it differs from what a traditional police officer does. While the training is the same, their duties vary.
Overall the day went very well and the students were glad to get an inside look at the Department of Emergency Services. They were very impressed with the speakers’ wealth of knowledge and the high tech equipment in both the emergency operations and 911 centers. Most of the students expressed their plans to attend college and a wrap up provided information on how they can obtain internships and summer jobs within the County of Chester. DES was glad to host the event and hopes to have the group back next year.
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