Tom Roder was watching television one day when he saw someone he knew in a recruitment advertisement for the Plainsboro Rescue Squad.
Two months later, he was in the back of an ambulance, reviving a woman who was suffering from a heart attack.
“The lady basically died on us twice,” he said. “We brought her back, and she was talking as we were rolling her into the hospital. That was my first real critical call. It really made me realize how much of a difference we can make and save someone’s life.”
That’s a heady experience for anyone. But what makes it more dramatic is that Roder is still in high school — a senior at South. The Plainsboro Rescue Squad consists of EMTs and trainees, and on life-threatening calls, a paramedic unit joins the squad, which was the case during this particular call.
For Roder, as well as Vicky Wang, the decision to join the squad was not life-changing, but the experiences the two have had since serving on the squad have been. The two have spent nearly two years training and learning the trade, balancing their responsibilities as students and other activities with serving as members of the Plainsboro Rescue Squad. And recently, both of the teens have successfully completed their EMT certifications.
One of Wang’s first few calls was also eye-opening. The call was routine — a baby was having seizures, which happens frequently. While the call was not life-threatening, “the parents were obviously worried,” she said. “They spoke Chinese, and I conversed with the mother in Chinese, and she calmed down, and that was the moment when I felt, ‘Wow, I actually did something.’ ”
Since then, there have been other calls in which Wang, also a senior at South, has been asked to translate. “Ever since I was born, I’ve always had my grandparents over to my house, taking care of me. My parents are the first generation in America, so I can only talk to them [grandparents] in Chinese.”
Wang, who will be 18 in January, has lived in Plainsboro since second grade, when she moved from Houston, Texas, as a result of her father’s job. Her mother currently works with Wyeth, which was recently sold to Pfizer, in the neuroscience department. Her father is a computer consultant.
Although Wang says she has no interest in pursuing a career in the medical field — rather, she is interested in international business — she loves being an EMT. “I’m hoping the college I go to will have a rescue squad there so I can continue being an EMT,” she said. If it is near her home, she said she would remain on the Plainsboro squad.
When she first joined nearly two years ago, she had to become certified for blood borne pathogens and first aid. Once those certifications were completed, she had to pass the modules the squad creates, including tests about location of items on the ambulance. Then, she earned her certification, and now is able to participate in more drills and becomes more involved in primary care calls. She is currently still a cadet but will be given more responsibility once she turns 18.
Serving as a volunteer on the squad, though, takes up a lot of her time. “You have to give up a lot of stuff, but it’s worth it,” she said. “Before being on the squad, I didn’t realize how much a volunteering job could actually impact people’s lives. It’s a lot of responsibility that I didn’t expect I would ever be able to have.”
She does not sacrifice everything. In fact, Wang is also very involved in High School South’s China Night program, where she has directed some of the performances. “I only really focus on that and rescue squad because they do take up a lot of time,” she said.
How does she balance those responsibilities with school? “I just try to be as efficient as possible in each task. I know that rescue squad is going to take up a lot of time, and I had to drop some other clubs because it gets really busy before China Night.”
When she does get free time, though, she enjoys playing volleyball and relaxing. Lately, though, she has been studying for the SATs.
Like Wang, Roder also went through the process to become EMT-certified after he joined the squad in August, 2008. And he, too, has remained dedicated.
Roder, who has lived in Plainsboro since kindergarten, balances volunteering with his part-time job as an umpire for the Cranbury-Plainsboro Little League as well as studies at South.
Prior to living in Plainsboro, his family lived in West Windsor for several months while his home in Plainsboro was being constructed. And before that, his family lived in Pennsylvania, but wanted to move closer to New York, where his father worked. The school system in the WW-P district was a major draw, he said. His father works for IBM as a learning facilitator, and his mother is an elementary school teacher in the Montgomery school district.
Roder also had to complete the coursework necessary to become certified, including taking the 120-hour course this past summer, which had him taking classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“It’s a quite a time commitment,” he said of his work with the squad. “It really depends on the week. Sometimes, I’m there every night of the week with meetings and calls and shifts.”
But that does not stop him from his work with the little league, where he played while he grew up. He began umpiring for the league at age 12, and each year since, he has been umpiring higher level games in the spring and sometimes in the fall.
Roder enjoys his time on the squad, which is preparing him for the future. While he also has no interest in medicine, he does want to pursue a career in law enforcement. “It teaches you how to deal with pretty stressful situations,” he said. “You’re walking into some of the worst moments of people’s lives and trying to help them with whatever is going on.”
“I pretty much always had an interest in it — I just really enjoy helping people, and I think I could really excel at that.”
Brian Gould, the past president of the Rescue Squad and the current training officer, is impressed with the effort by both Roder and Wang.
As Gould explained, both EMTs had to spend 120 hours in the class, were required to ride 10 hours on an ambulance or in an emergency room, and had to undergo an additional 10 hours of training specific to the Plainsboro Rescue Squad. The two EMTs also spent a few hours taking online tests with the federal government.
Most EMTs are not high school students, especially since parents in this area tend to push their children to do SAT prep work and study, leaving them with no time to perform the 150 total hours necessary for their certifications.
Additionally, each EMT is required to provide one evening per week and one weekend day per month as a riding squad member. They are also required to attend monthly cadet meetings, monthly squad meetings, and monthly training drills. They also have to continue their training in order to maintain their state certifications.
The squad accepts cadets three months before turning 16. “The reason is it typically takes three months just to get up to the point where you can ride on the ambulance,” Gould said. “We make it very clear we are looking for people with a passion to do EMS, and not for people who are just resume-building.”
“I have personally kicked out at least a dozen cadets from the squad who were resume building,” Gould added.
This is why the squad asks all of its cadets to get their EMT certification, and unfortunately, that does not happen often. If a cadet fails to become an EMT after a year, he or she is asked to leave. “A rescue squad does not have a cadet program because it helps the local squad — we’re training EMTs, likely to become EMTs for other squads.”
All of this aside, Roder and Wang went through the 150 hours, continued to get good grades in school, and even juggled jobs and other responsibilities. “The case of these two is somewhat unique — they’ve put out a tremendous effort,” Gould said. “Vicky is a tremendous trainer. If someone doesn’t understand something, including adult training, she will sit down with them.”
Roder is “unbelievably good; I would trust my life in his hands as an emergency medical technician,” said Gould. To contact the squad call 609-799-2180 or visit https://plainsbororescuesquad.org.
