Katharine “Casey” Kickertz, 31 Procurement transplant coordinator
EDUCATION: B.S. in nursing
WHAT SHE DOES: Coordinates organ donation and transplantation
HARDEST PART: “Staying focused on the positive. It is easy to start feeling down with the sadness we see.”
HOW PEOPLE REACT TO HER JOB: “‘Ohh!’ Complete with a funny look and a step back.”
Malcolm Dicks, 33 Logistics specialist
EDUCATION: B.S. in biology; M.S. in emergency services administration
HIS WORK MOTTO: “Keep it simple. Like anything, the more you complicate things, especially with logistics, the more it will fail.”
BEST ADVICE:” Everything is hard in the beginning, but sometimes when you get done, you might find you liked the challenge and want to do it again.”
Sureka Khandagle, 36, Humanitarian aid worker
EDUCATION: B.A., M.A. in international relations
SECRET TO SUCCESS: “Maintaining a sense of humor and remaining flexible.”
ADVICE FOR TEENS: “Study abroad, learn a different language, broaden your horizons.”
Katrina Harris, 30 Addictions counselor
EDUCATION: B.A. in psychology; M.S. in kinesiology; substance-abuse counseling certificate
WHAT SHE WISHES MORE TEENS KNEW ABOUT ADDICTION: “With [many] substances, it only takes one try to become addicted. Once that happens, it is extremely difficult to break the habit.”
ABOUT HER JOB: “Some people say they admire that I am able to help these individuals…. Others can’t understand why I … choose to work with this population. I use that response as an opportunity to try to educate people about the disease of addiction.”
Discuss
* Before reading, ask: What makes a career “lifesaving” ? What are some lifesaving careers? (List students’ answers.)
* How are each of the careers described in the article “lifesaving”?
* Did any of the profiled careers surprise you? Why?
Do
Return to your students’ list of lifesaving careers. Ask students to select one career from the list to research. Students should prepare a presentation about that job–the job description, training requirements, and lifesaving aspect. As part of their research, students should interview someone in that position to gain insight into how their interview subject improves and even saves people’s lives.