Super Kid: Firefighter in training
Published 3:54 pm Friday, November 12, 2010
Q: You split your time between Lynnwood High School and the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center. Why is that?
A: When I get older, I want to become a firefighter, so this is the best way to lead up to that. I do three periods at Sno-Isle and three periods at the high school because I also have to take my requirements, like history and English.
Q: Will you go to college to become a firefighter?
A: There’s a program at Everett Community College. It’s like 12 weeks. After you finish it, you get your Firefighter 1 Certification, which is what you need to become a volunteer or part-time firefighter.
Q: Have you ever seen a burning building?
A: Yeah, I’ve done live fire training. They have mock search and rescues. Those rooms get real hot. You come out and you’re just dripping sweat, chugging water the whole day, because you get real bad headaches from dehydration. It’s one of those things where you have to sign 60 pieces of paper before you go for safety reasons. It’s real fun.
Q: You’re also taking drama in high school. Do you have a favorite movie?
A: I’d probably pick “Gladiator.” It’s very true to all the history and what actually happened back then.
Q: So you start your day with the physical work of learning to be a firefighter, and you end with the artistic work of drama. What’s that like?
A: It kind of helps you use every part of your brain throughout the day. You go from working out hard and doing physical activity to using your mind and your emotions.
Q: Are you involved in sports?
A: I wrestle. I’ve been doing that since seventh grade. I did a lot of other sports when I was younger. I did basketball and football and baseball. But I like how wrestling is a team sport and an individual sport.
Q: Have you ever hurt yourself wrestling?
A: Freshman year, I landed real hard and bad. I was out for a while. I bruised my bones and muscles in my thigh. I couldn’t wrestle. I was on crutches. That’s probably the worst thing that’s happened to me in wrestling.
Q: What’s the best thing?
A: We go to tournaments every Saturday. I’ve never won a tournament, but I’ve placed. Third is the highest I’ve gotten. To stand on the pedestal, when you’re wrestling six matches in a day, just feels real good. You get that sense of personal pride.
Q: Is there anything you always have in your backpack?
A: I usually keep a book in there to read. I just finished a book about King Arthur. It’s a whole series — I just finished the last one — by Bernard Cornwell. I really liked them.
Q: It sounds like you’re interested in medieval history. What about that grabs your imagination?
A: Since no one really knows exactly what happened back then, it’s cool to see the author’s point of view, how they see it in their own mind. You’re looking at a story through their thoughts.
Q: Do you have a part-time job?
A: I work at Fred Meyer. I do cleaning, push carts, everything but bag groceries. I’ve been working there for three months now. It’s real fun. I used to work at Jack in the Box. I was getting sick of all the food there, seeing it every day. You come home, your dog attacks you because you smell like french fries.
Q: If you could change one thing about school, what would it be?
A: I wish there was a later start time. Getting up in the morning is so hard. You work until 10, go to sleep by midnight and get six hours of sleep a night. It’s hard to wake up and be energized.
Q: If you could be anything in the world — a movie star, a pro wrestler — what would it be?
A: I’ve always liked to act, so I would like to be in movies, but if I could be anything, I’d want to be a firefighter. It’s something I’ve worked so hard at and tried to become. It’s one of those jobs that makes you feel good at the end of the day.
Know a super kid? Contact Andy Rathbun at 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.
