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Written by Rebecca Svec

Photos Ben Meyer

Courtney Marcelino ’19 planned to earn a biology degree from ˮ���� but was unsure of her career path. 

Abbie Willett (class of 2025) is pursuing a biology degree with a health sciences emphasis but has found additional purpose in a Crete volunteer role that complements her studies.

Harrison Gaman came to ˮ���� from El Paso, Texas, to study and play football, but planned to go ‘four years and out’, right back to his home state to work in law enforcement.

Today, Marcelino is a paramedic for three Nebraska medical centers and will soon finish her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Willett is now halfway through her biology requirements, remains committed to her volunteer role, and plans to use knowledge from both as a future pathologist assistant. 

And Gaman is a career firefighter in Lincoln and a Crete resident with no plans to leave Nebraska.

What happened? The Crete Volunteer Fire Department.

Each volunteered with Crete’s fire department and rescue squad — as many ˮ���� students have done over the years — and found a surprising and positive impact on their futures.

Making ˮ���� students eligible for the squad has kept the Crete department’s volunteer numbers healthy, with a steady stream of young recruits. Some have made Crete home and remained with CVFD; others take their fire and Emergency Medical Services skills back to hometowns or the new towns they call home. Some find a new career path and a new family among fellow squad members. 

“It has turned out to be a really good program, benefitting the fire department, the City of Crete and the students,” said James Yost, Crete’s Assistant Fire Chief. 

It began as a ‘What if…?’ idea to keep the volunteer numbers up, looking for a solution for the problem facing many rural Nebraska communities: A shortage of volunteers when the 911 calls come in. 

Why not let ˮ���� students use their college address inside the fire district as a permanent address, making them eligible to volunteer, someone asked.

This year about a quarter of the 34 members on the CVFD roster are ˮ���� students, in addition to several ˮ���� alums. 

A situation a few years ago highlighted just how important the ˮ���� ties have become. When the ambulance left the station for an emergency call, five of the six responders were current or former ˮ���� students. 

“Without the ˮ���� affiliation, we would have had a delayed response or called mutual aid for help,” said Yost, a Crete native in his 17th year on the department and a firefighter in Lincoln for the past 14. 

Crete’s department averages about 900 calls per year, made up of roughly 500 EMS calls, 100 fire-related calls and 300 interfacility transfers. Even with their call load, they don’t expect volunteers to make every call, and the department makes it clear to students that school comes first, Yost said.

At the same time, some students will find growth and education within the department. The time among the CVFD ranks has put several students on the path to medical and firefighting careers, including paramedics, nurses, a Doctor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and a Physician Assistant. 

The list includes Marcelino, a paramedic who found a passion for emergency medicine through her time with fire and rescue, as well as Gaman, a captain and 14-year member of the Crete department in addition to his work with Lincoln Fire & Rescue. While attending ˮ����, he joined CVFD hoping to learn emergency skills to apply in a law enforcement career, then realized he had found his career. He loved tackling a grassfire one day; performing chest compressions on a car accident victim the next. No two days alike, except knowing someone needed them.

The department pays for students’ training to earn their EMS license and is considering a reimbursement model for paramedic classes. On one hand, Yost said, they are paying training costs for a student who might only be with them for three years. The flip side, though, is the stream of staffing it provides. 

The station has Wi-Fi and an open, welcoming feel, offering students a place to study or just hang out, Yost said. He likes walking into the station and seeing students on laptops or working on the ambulance with other volunteers.

Many of the students said they consider the department a second family, a connection that keeps them in touch with CVFD long past college. 

“We will literally run into fires to save each other…we completely rely on each other. For me, (CVFD) turned into a family I didn’t know I needed,” Marcelino said.

Department requirements

• At least age 18
• High-school diploma or GED
• Valid driver’s license
• Live within the Crete Fire District