Departments
|
Week of 9 April 1999 |
Vol. II, No. 30 |
Feature
Article
EMT is state's top student employee
By Eric McHenry
The academic performance of Raymond Jean (SAR'99) has earned him admission to the Modular Medical Integrated Curriculum (MMEDIC), a program that each year places approximately 20 outstanding BU undergraduates on a glide path to the School of Medicine. It's a rigorous curriculum, but it doesn't prevent him from working a double shift almost every weekend as an emergency medical technician for a South Boston ambulance company. And last summer, Jean volunteered to assist Medflight, a critical-care helicopter service, with an extensive research project that has continued to occupy him during the academic year.
These, by the way, are the sorts of things for which he was not honored at an awards dinner April 7. As the Student Employee of the Year Award winner for both BU and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Jean was recognized for his work as Emergency Medical Services supervisor in the Department of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (PERD) -- what he spends his time doing when he's not in class, in an ambulance, or in a helicopter.
"I like to keep busy," he says.
No kidding. A licensed EMT and American Heart Association CPR instructor, Jean joined PERD as a first aid supervisor in 1995, when he was a freshman. "I've known I wanted to be a doctor since elementary school," he says, "but I sort of stumbled upon that position. I originally worked for Student Health Services, and I just happened to bump into someone who was wearing a BU EMS T-shirt."
Jean sought out the EMS coordinator and secured a position. For nearly three years he provided first aid treatment at BU's three gymnasiums -- Sargent, Case, and the Shed. Then last summer he was promoted to EMS supervisor, a job that entails training and oversight of a 30-person staff. In an enthusiastic letter of nomination for the Student Employee of the Year honor, Raymond Levy (SAR'98) wrote that creating the EMS supervisor's position and appointing Jean to it were the first actions he took upon being hired as director of EMS. "This was one of the easiest decisions that I have had to make and it began to pay dividends immediately," Levy wrote.
Without being officious or overbearing, Levy says, Jean very comfortably assumes a leader's role in matters of management and critical care provision. His years of experience make him a valuable resource for other student EMTs.
"Even if I hadn't created the supervisory position that Ray is now in, people would still be going to him with questions," says Levy. "He just sort of naturally fills that role."
Jean was also instrumental in the creation of BU's first EMT training course. He participated in every stage of its development, Levy says, and now serves as a lead assistant instructor of the 132-hour, 2-credit class. "He really got the ball rolling. He was involved in everything from designing flyers to sitting in on the interviews of the instructor candidates," says Levy. "I would make all the final decisions, but I would consult Ray on everything."
Although he's shown aptitude for teaching, research, and management, Jean says his drive to be a doctor hasn't flagged since elementary school. He'll enter MED in the fall.
"I'd like, ultimately, to work in a big-city hospital and do trauma surgery," he says. "I like the adrenaline and the feeling that you can take a situation that's very chaotic and sort of control the chaos. If people are hurt, panicking, and very upset, it's gratifying to be able to calm them down and let them know that they're going to be okay. And it's gratifying when someone comes back, and a lot of times someone does, a week or so later and says, 'Hey, thanks for helping me out.' "
|
|
|
Raymond Levy (left), director of Emergency Medical Services, wrote an enthusiastic letter of recommendation that helped earn Raymond Jean, EMS supervisor, recognition as Student Employee of the Year, both for BU and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Photo by Kalman Zabarsky |
Sunil Anand (CAS'99) and Justin Hahn (CAS'00) were also recognized at the April 7 event for their service as student employees. Both received the University's Outstanding Achievement Award, which includes a $100 savings bond and a certificate.
Anand is a laboratory assistant at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute in MED, a job he began as a volunteer. His work has helped researchers make significant progress on several investigations, according to M. Audrey Rudd, MED research assistant professor. "Through his efforts and perseverance our laboratory has been able to detect the nitric oxide synthase protein within the kidney," Rudd wrote in her nominating letter.
Hahn works in the College of Engineering as a computer systems administrator. "Since his first week of work, he has continued to exceed expectations. He actively looks for problems that need fixing, security breaches or holes that need patching, and new software tools that would benefit the lab," ENG Associate Professor Mari Ostendorf wrote on Hahn's behalf. "Unlike many student employees, I do not need to remind him of work that needs to be done; rather, I find him reminding me of work that I need to do . . ." Ostendorf's nomination was accompanied by three supporting letters bearing the signatures of seven graduate students and research assistants.
The Student Employee of the Year Award, for which there were 58 nominations this year, is administered by the Student Employment Office. Its staff narrows the initial pool of candidates to 12, then circulates the nominations among a panel of 5 final judges, all of whom are University employees.