recently finished an intensive, 10-week long academy.

Celine West
Staff Writer
@ECCUnionCeline
G
raduating students from class 138 of
the EC Fire Academy gathered to-
gether with friends and family to cel-
ebrate a major stepping_ stone in their
firefighting careers at the EC Fire
Academy in Inglewood on AprillL
"Being part of the team was most valuable to me,
the brotherhood and camaraderie. We all came to
know each other at the academy," Nicholas Hart, 22,
fire technology major and academy graduate of class
138, said.
Students said they found a sense of value from be-
ing part of this group.
"I joined because I want to become a firefighter,"
Hart said. "I am going to get EMT experience, a vol-
unteer job, do a resident program, and take classes. Ev-
erything is just done in baby steps."
Despite the prospects of years of hard work ahead,
students were more than ready to graduate and cel-
ebrate their accomplishments with their families and
guests.
"Today we are looking forward to having a good
time with our families who came to see us graduate,"
Hart said.
The graduation consisted of a traditional ceremony
that was followed by demonstrations of the skills that
students had acquired during their training.
"We have 31 students graduating today, which is a
very typical class size," Deborah Zavala, program as-
sistant and buyer of emergency technology, said. "We
are going to have the ceremony first, give out the cer-
tificates and then have a break. Then we will have a
demonstration," Zavala said.
Part of the demonstration included showing im-
portant historical items in the field of firefighting and
emergency service work.
"We're going to have a speaker from the Culver
City Fire Department who will show us the fire engine
that got damaged in New York on 9/11," Bill Melendez,
chief of the EC Fire Academy, said. "The fire engine
got restored and inside the rig there are items that they
preserved," Mendez said.
[See FIRE ACADEMY, Page 2]
John Fordiani/ Union
Joseph Fuentes, El Camino Fire Academy recruit, rappels down the academy's tower
during a demonstration at the class graduation on Aprilll.

ASB Awareness Fair
Attend the ASB Awareness Fair
today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
the Library Lawn. Enjoy singing,
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Inglewood Court Tour
Have a passion for the judicial
process? Take a tour of the Ingle-
wood Superior Court on April 24
""t Jl10-"- m- MeeJ with
Internship Workshop
Want to learn about the benefits
an internship? Attend a worksh
on April 22 from 1 to 2 p.m .
find out thP. imnort:mcP. :mel liS
] of the Union
argues against the faculty union's salary proposal in
The EC debate team held the event to frame the ongoing
and teachers.
Yim felt they could have done better and
said the convention inspired her and others
to better the newspaper.
"It's definitely a rude awakening for the
union," she said. "I think everybody kind
of walked away from JACC with that much
more of a fire in our stomachs. We are that
much more fired up to work harder and put
more effort and, you know, really give it our
all instead of riding on our history."
FIRE ACADEMY,
Continued from Page 1
Despite the concluding tone of the
graduation, constant growth and de-
velopment is the main focus in this
line of work rather than arrival at any
particular goal.
"Progressing is the most impor-
tant thing. We always like to make
progress. We never stop learning,"
Ryan Lauzon, senior mentor of the
EC Fire Academy, said.
Pedro Montero, another senior
mentor of the EC Fire Academy,
echoed this sentiment.
"This is one of the building blocks.
It is just a small step. Just because we
have this doesn't mean we're done,"
he said. "People came here to chal-
lenge themselves in a new area."
"It can takes anywhere from six
months to six years to get hired on a
fire department," Montero added.
After the academy, students piece
together their experience in the field
in order to build their resume and
prepare themselves for joining a fire
department.
"It takes time. I'm not going to
give up. I have gotten this far. You
keep testing yourself," Aaron Hayre,
recent graduate of the EC Fire Acad-
emy and a new mentor, said. "I be-
came an EMT for four years and an
explorer with L.A. City for one year.
In a resident program, you live at the
fire station on a 24 hour shift for at
least three days a month and you go
on calls with them. It's a stepping
stone."
Another stepping stone is to be-
come a mentor to future academy
classes, which many students will be
doing after they graduate.
"Half of the students sign up to
become mentors for the next class,"
Melendez said, "I'm glad to see that.
It's a key factor in continuing with
their education."
want to work hard for all the people who
voted for me," she said. "I want to make an
impact next semester, even if it's just one
small change for something better."
Mo also hopes EC students have more
opportunities to get the classes they need
and wants to help students to reach their
_ __ 1 __ - L - ___..J _...:I ___ .J
.