CCC Student Shayla Haskan preparing for EMS classes at the Page Center. Courtesy photo.
PAGE — She is dedicated to schoolwork and family.
Coconino Community College student Shayla Haskan, who hails from the Navajo Nation, is currently taking classes at the Page campus. After volunteering with EMS services on the Navajo Nation, she decided to get her EMT certificate to help on her Emergency Medical Services career path, with the end goal of becoming a flight paramedic.
Shayla drives a total of two and a half hours to attend class and another two and a half hours home after the course is over. “Driving the ambulance from 12 pm to midnight prepared me for driving late at night,” she said.
When asked why she wanted to get into a career in Emergency Medical Services, Haskan answered, “because I’ve seen family members go through things that they shouldn’t have gone through,” adding that if she had the EMT training at that time she would have been there to help them.
Her daughter is another driving force. “She was about 4-5 years old when she had a seizure from high fever, and I didn’t know much about it,” Haskan said. “What I know now, even though it’s basic, would have helped a lot.”
For more information about becoming an Emergency Medical Technician and what the prerequisites for the program are, visit https://www.coconino.edu/resources/files/pdfs/pathways/fire-science/emt-program-checklist-sp22.pdf.