From an early age, Tyler Engel has been interested in being on the responding end of a 911 call. That interest started back when Tyler’s uncle was a firefighter with the South Holland Fire Department.
“Growing up, there was ‘Coffee with a Firefighter’ that I’d go to. Every few weeks or so, my grandma and I would bake brownies or cookies and bring them over there,” he said.
Years later, Tyler is now going on ride-alongs and answering phone calls for the South Holland Fire Department as part of his UCA internship. His day-to-day often includes the following: helping cook meals for the day’s shift, riding along on fire engine calls, sitting in on training sessions, learning the language of the SHFD, and answering non-emergency phone calls to the department.
Tyler knows how much work goes into becoming a firefighter, and how demanding the lifestyle can be. But he is treating the internship as a way to test if the job could be right for him.
“I thought, worst case scenario, after this internship, if I don’t like it I can change paths,” he said. “I wanted to know if this is a good career for me. … And honestly, my interest has grown since starting the internship.”
The coolest thing Tyler has done: By the end of the internship, Tyler said he’ll have the opportunity to go up in the bucket of the SHFD’s tower truck.
The hardest thing about the internship: Getting to know new people in such a high-intensity setting can be a challenge, he said.