Department of Public Safety

Brenda Schaefer was a Paramedic Crew Chief for the St. Louis City Fire Department for 12 years before her untimely death in July of 2009. In her honor, the Brenda Schaefer Memorial Scholarship was set up to help EMT students cover some of the costs in obtaining their EMT license.

During a ceremony last month, St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis M. Jenkerson joined Gateway IT High School Principal Dr. Elizabeth Bender and International Association of Firefighters Local 73 President Chris Molitor in presenting four students with the scholarships during a ceremony held at the school.

The scholarship recipients are:

• Elizabeth Arnold, who plans to attend Millikin University in Chicago
• Cedric Hubbard, who plans to pursue a career in EMS
• Dominique Gadley, who plans to study pre-med
• Darren Frazier, who also intends to study pre-med.

Each of the students is 17 years old. In addition to their studies, which includes CPR and completing federally mandated training courses for emergency responders, they also volunteer to provide medical assistance at public events, do community service projects and perform jobs in the classroom that mirror jobs in the EMS field.

According to Ken Riddle, EMT Instructor at Gateway, students are eligible to take the EMT exam when they reach the age of 18. Nationally, only 50 percent of those taking the exam pass. However, Gateway's students who take the exam have a passing rate of over 90 percent.  

Congratulations Elizabeth, Cedric, Dominique and Darren!