She's a junior at Greeley West High School, and she's spent a lot of time thinking about her future. She decided firefighting was something she wanted to consider.
Tuesday afternoon, Reese and nine other high school-aged girls from northern Colorado practiced suiting up in the protective gear and breathing apparatuses firefighters use on the job at the Aims Community College's inaugural Young Women Xplore Academy. A cadre of female firefighters encouraged them, shared stories of their experiences and helped them learn how to use the equipment.
Hosted by Aims' Public Safety Institute in Windsor, this three-day workshop offers high school girls the chance to learn and train public safety and firefighting skills.
“I want to give them a safe environment to explore a fire career, a fire service academy and to speak with women firefighters who are actively in the fire service.
— Pat Mialy, Captain of the Loveland Fire Rescue
Women aren't common in the firefighting field, said Loveland Fire Rescue Captain Pat Mialy. The college and firefighting officials hope the program encourages more women to at least explore it. In fact, many women don't even get that chance.
"Many times the fire service isn't something that's put before young women for consideration," Mialy said.
As a result, the fire service is still predominately male, said Aims Director of Fire Science Randy Souther. The hope with the academy is to encourage them and let them know they're welcome in the firefighting industry.
Throughout the course, which started Tuesday and runs through Thursday, the girls will practice and learn different fire safety skills from female instructors and firefighters. The program includes classroom training, as well, and everyone who completes the program will become CPR certified, Mialy said.
It's about more than just the firefighting skills and know-how to her though. Mialy said she feels important traits like confidence and assertiveness aren't encouraged enough in young women. With the fire academy, she hopes she might get a chance to let these young women feel a little more comfortable in their own skin.
"I want to give them a safe environment to explore a fire career, a fire service academy and to speak with women firefighters who are actively in the fire service," Mialy said. "Our goal as instructors is also to help them build self esteem, assertiveness and teamwork in a safe environment."
By the time the program ends, the girls will have participated in ladder operations training, repelling and a live fire demo in Aims' training facility and burn house. Outside of those daring educational opportunities, the girls will learn about fire behavior, search and rescue, nutrition, physical fitness and hose management.
Before the course wraps up, the students will get to learn about emergency air transportation through a demo with a Northern Colorado Med Evac helicopter. On the final day, students will compete in a team competition using their new fire safety training.
Careers in public service have a positive outlook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay of firefighter in 2016 was approximately $50,000 per year. The median annual wage of all workers was slightly above $37,000. EMTs and paramedics will be in high demand during the next few years with a 24 percent projected growth in employment between 2014 and 2024.
Learning from women helped encourage Reese.
"I see how a lot of the women are smaller (in build)," she said, "but it doesn't stop them."
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