As told by Erin Taber, MEd, NRP
Many years ago, I was an aspiring rookie paramedic. Today, I am leading the EMS programs at my alma mater, Missouri Southern State University.
My journey wasn’t a traditional one. Early in my college years, I aspired to be an athletic trainer, never a first responder. As a washed-up college athlete, athletics was all I had ever known and seemed like the correct path. That was until a required EMT course was put in place. In 2012, I stepped into an EMT course and from there I was hooked. I no longer had the desire to work with athletes but the desire to save lives and make an impact on my community.
I completed my paramedic courses in the summer of 2014. I moved from a rural service to a more urban-based service and enjoyed the thrill of running multiple calls a shift, being in the city and the overall excitement of being a paramedic. I sadly did not have many female mentors, and it was for that reason I knew I had to step up and be a mentor for new female paramedics in the field.
I started as a field training officer at my service, then a lieutenant and eventually the first female captain ever at my service. I participated in education opportunities, mentorship opportunities and was the first ever female paramedic on the local police department’s SWAT team. My goal was to blaze a trail for females to come and show that just because you are female in reality doesn’t really mean anything, we are all paramedics.
After achieving goals that I had set for myself in the field, it was time for a change. Education was up next. I started working with the EMS program in the spring of 2020 and immediately knew my next goal was to run the program. Through great mentorship, my goals became reality in the spring of 2023 when I was promoted to program director at Missouri Southern State University.
As a female program director, my goal is that all women and men that come through the program know that anything is possible, with a positive attitude, self-motivation and a lot of hard work!
