4
Crystal Macedo Firefighter/Paramedic
Crystal is a 29 years old born in Huntington Park, California and raised in Fontana, California. I moved to Wichita, Kansas in November of 1997 when I was 11 years old. I am a single mother to my son Julian, 11, and my daughter Lyla, 4. My family is originally from Mexico with my dad being born in Oaxaca, Oaxaca and being raised in Cuernavaca, Morelos and my mother being born
and raised in Apatzingan, Michoacan.
I am from the Alpha-Alpha chapter at Wichita State University and I was in the Epsilon Class in Spring 2005 which I joined in my second semester of college when my son was only about 5 months old.
My older sister, who is an honorary member of Kappa Delta Chi was in the original interest group at WSU but was unable to continue do to family and leaving school. Since my sister was in the interest group, I have been around the ladies of Kappa Delta Chi and grew up admiring them. I knew that when I went to college there was never going to be a possibility that I didn't join this amazing organization of beautiful and amazing woman.
I attended WSU from Fall 2004 till Spring 2007 without graduating to pursue a degree as a paramedic. I attended Cowley County Community College, where I graduated with my Paramedic and Associate's degree in January 2010. I then attended University of Phoenix from Spring 2010 to Spring 2012 where I received my Bachelor Of Science in Management.
Tell us a little about what you do & how you got your job:
I am a Firefighter/Paramedic for the Sedgwick County Fire Deparment. I also work as a BLS, ALS,and PALS instructor for the American Heart Association through Lifesaver Learning Inc. And I am also a volunteer Firefighter/ Paramedic for the City Of Halstead Fire/EMS Department. I have a Bachelors in Science of Management, although it is not directly part of my career I do believe that it will assist me in climbing the organizational latter at my current job.
In order to get the job I have now as a Firefighter/Paramedic I had to attend fire classes as well as volunteering in Halstead assisted me in getting the position. After being hired I had to go through a rigorous academy with the organization that included 12 weeks of high levels of physical and mental training. As of today I am the only Latina to have graduated from this academy.
Is this a job/career that you’ve dreamed about since a child or was this a career you never imagined having?
I would not say that this is the career I imagined for myself when I was a little girl because I had always seen myself becoming a nurse. While attending Wichita State I began to get tired of taking all of the prerequisite classes needed and with having had my son my first semester of college it was getting hard to stay focused. I wanted a career that would allow me to stay in the medical field yet allow me to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. After receiving my EMT I began to work for Sedgwick County EMS part time and when I graduated Paramedic school I became a full time employee. After 6 years of being on the EMS department I left EMS with Sedgwick County and decided to become a Firefighter.
Is it what you thought it was going to be? Why or why not?
Since becoming a Firefighter I can truly say that I love what I do and I can definitely see myself in this career field until I can no longer work. I am able to come to work happy. Happy to help my community, happy to work with a great group of men that treat me like family, and happy to learn something new everyday.
What is a typical conflict that you have encountered (if any) that KDChi has taught you to deal with or resolve?
Having been able to be a part of Kappa Delta Chi during school and even now has taught me much of what I needed in order to accomplish everything I have today. KDChi has taught me the importance of knowing how to learn and study as well as making sure I have my priorities straight no matter what they are. I have learned through these girls, important skills on how to interview successfully. Dress attire and communication were taught to me from day one when joining Kappa Delta Chi.
What are you responsible for on a day to day basis?
Every day I come in to work I am responsible for making sure the truck that I am in charge of is fully equipped and functional for when a call comes in. I am responsible for maintaining good physical fitness and continue with training so that I may assist the citizens of my community in the best possible way. I am responsible for keeping documentation of the calls I have ran as well as maintaining the Firehouse clean tidy. I have been extremely lucky to work with the group of guys I do because we all work as a team and no one is ever looked at being less then anyone else.
What advice do you have for sisters looking to go into this field?
My advise to a KDChi sister wanting to pursue a career as a firefighter would be to do exactly what you want and to not let anyone ever make you feel as if you are not strong enough or capable of doing the job. Let the negativity around you be the motivation you need to prove that you can do it.
What is the best piece of advice every received?
The best advise I ever got was from a Paramedic I had the privilege of working for years ago. He always told me two things; "the day you stop learning is the day you should no longer be a Paramedic" and "when you feel like your body can not take any more, push it and keep fighting". With these two sayings he made me understand the importance of always having to learn new and better techniques no matter from who or how you learn them. Even the new guy, or gal, in whatever field you are working in can help you see what you have never been able to see on your own. Make every moment a teaching moment, because even a negative event can be learned from. Also, when you feel like your body can no longer take the strain of the activity it is what you are able to make your mind believe that will help you fight till the end.
What would you consider your biggest failure? What did you learn from this?
My biggest failure career wise would definitely have to be allowing life circumstances get in the way of my career. In 2014 I went through a divorce that was mentally and physically straining me. In order to support my kids I began to work a lot of overtime which was physically draining me. At the time, I was working for Sedgwick County EMS as a Paramedic and caring for patients during 18 hour work days with only about 4 hours of sleep was not healthy and could have been unsafe, for not only myself, but for my partners and the community I was caring for. I was not spending time with kids like I wanted to and I could see the disappointment in them as well. I began to show up late to work because I would sleep through alarms. In the end I had to make the decision to either quit my job or risk the possibility of tarnishing my reputation and getting fired. I could have fought for my job but instead I quit. I learned that even when things get hard you have to fight to the end and do everything possible to fix the problem. I loved my job and the organization I was working for but life's struggles were making it difficult. Through this experience though, I was able to start fighting for the career I now have and all the time I am able to spend with my kids with an increase of income as well. I now have a career that I love even more then one before and I truly do not see myself doing anything else.
Where do you see yourself in 5?
In 5 years I see myself still working for the organization I am working for but as a Lieutenant and helping my organization with Public Relations and assisting in teaching my fellow firefighters emergency medical services that will help in care of the patients that we see
on a daily basis as first responders. I am also now working on my Master's in Emergency Management and hope to be done in a year or two. I do not necesarily see this degree in helping with a new job
opportunity in 5 years, but I do hope that in the long run it will assist me in my longer goal of becoming a Chief or an EMS Director for a fire based EMS service in a
bigger city someday.
What do you do for fun?
For fun I love spending time with kids. I enjoy taking them to the park or even to the fire station. The excitement in their eyes when they get to get on the fire trucks and the ambulaces where I volunteer makes me love my job even more.
I also enjoy dancing. I love dancing bachata, cumbias, salsa, merengue, reggaeton.
If I’m Mixed…
Does my Voice Honestly Count?
By Desiree Johnson, Reprinted from Mixed Roots Stories.com
There have been times in my life that, I choose to give my input or opinion on a sociological, political, or socioeconomic issue specific to my race, I’m often told that “my opinion doesn’t count I’m not full___.” The common misconception with this phrase is that I cannot or do not understand the full weight of whatever the topic at hand is because I do not 100% represent that part of my culture. It is a hard argument to have with an individual who already has their mind made up that because I’m mixed, I don’t get it. Perhaps you have been the subject of said scrutiny or experienced a similar situation in which you feel invalidated and are cast off to that isle of misfit toys that many multiracial people find themselves on.
Being mixed with Black and Mexican roots I have often been told I got the best of both worlds. Sometimes that’s an actual heartfelt response, other times it’s sarcastic since these are two notoriously oppressed racial groups here in the United States. We are at a time period where social injustice is running amuck from police brutality to underrepresentation in literature and the media. Since I am half Black am I immune to feeling sorrow, anger, and despair for victims like Trayvon Martin because I am not fully black? No. I feel the emotions and call to justice just as much as the next person and should not feel bullied or belittled if I want to say Black Lives Matter, though I’m only half black.
Being mixed does not mean I don’t understand or that I cannot help and I should be empowered to speak my opinion without judgment, but that’s not always the case. Instead I receive more scrutiny because I’m
expected to show how committed to my race I really am through how I choose to express said opinions or sentiments. How black am I and by whose standards? Who is the ultimate judge that gives me a pass as being 100 percent Black and Mexican?
The presidential elections have front-runners like Donald Trump labeling Latinos “criminals,” and “rapists” with the discouraging notion this could be someone actually leading our country someday. Should I not be allowed to protest or have a discussion on Trump because I’m not all Latina? I am entitled to that conversation just the same as another Latino because I do understand. You are marginalized being mixed-and the constant act of trying to prove something to anyone who challenges your authentic self can be exhausting.
To read the rest of this article please click here
Desiree Johnson is Texan Lady living in the windy, sometimes temperamental city of Chicago where she is getting her MFA in Creative Writing.
She has publications with The Rivard Report, NSIDE Publications, Study Breaks Magazine and Unite 4: Good. Her approach to writing whether fiction or non-fiction is to keep it as eclectic and diverse as her interest so she is ambitious in wanting to have her writing cross all platforms. She seeks to continue to improve in her skill set as an author, writer, and storyteller while educating others on being bi-racial and interracial relationships. As she continues finishing her MFA she looks forward to the new opportunities that lie ahead and embracing whatever life throws her way. She is currently a contributing writer for Swirl Nation Blog, EliteDaily.Com, an Editorial Fellow with The Tempest, and created the new “Your Hair Story Series,” with Mixed Chicks Hair Products.
About Mixed Roots Stories
OUR VISION
A world that recognizes how it benefits from otherness, one that both celebrates and challenges identity categories in order to create more liberatory possibilities for our collective futures.
OUR MISSION
Supporting and advocating for diverse Mixed communities through the power of sharing stories. We seek to act as a liaison, creating space between storytellers across academic and non-academic communities, and international and national contexts.