Northland Pioneer College (NPC) celebrated fourteen new Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic graduates at a ceremony held at the Snowflake Campus Performing Arts Center, May 16, 2025.
Graduates included Alain Ahesteen, Derek Daley, Timathea Ethelbagh-Amos, and twin brothers David and Daniel Larzelere from Whiteriver/Apache Emergency Medical Services (EMS). They were joined by Adam Fisher from White Mountain Ambulance Services. Lacie Davis of St. Johns EMS and Ryan Carpenter and James Meek from the Pinetop Fire Department also earned their patches. Timber Mesa Fire and Medical had three graduates. They included Kristofer Torres, Rebekah Daniels, and Ryan Short. Ben Knight of the Taylor/Snowflake Fire Department and Julian Mendoza from the Puerco Valley Fire Department rounded out the completers. Family, friends, and colleagues joined the graduates to celebrate their accomplishment.
NPC EMS Coordinator Michelle Prentice addressed the crowd, acknowledging the students’ hard work and dedication to the rigorous program. “I am very proud of all of you,” she said. “As a paramedic, you don’t just learn how to intubate, to put a tube down someone’s throat to help them breathe, or to monitor an EKG, a heartbeat.” She said, “You have to know what to do and how to take charge in dire situations. To do what you have to do to save that heartbeat. To be ready and to show up like it’s the most important call of your life, because it is the most important day of someone’s life.” She continued, “Remember, we carry those moments and memories and those calls with us. So every time you hold a scared patient’s hand or comfort a sick child, know your hands will heal and your heart will be the light in someone else’s darkness.” She told the graduates, “Spend your heartbeats wisely, and remember to always be prepared to save the heartbeat that needs it.”
Class co-valedictorians Ben Knight (Taylor/Snowflake Fire) and Ryan Carpenter (Pinetop Fire) also spoke. “Even though our colleagues warned us, I don’t think any of us fully understood what we were getting ourselves into… what it would demand of us, physically, mentally, and emotionally,” explained Knight. “We’ve had to master anatomy, pharmacology, and airway management, all while running on adrenaline, caffeine, and sheer determination.” He said, “We kept going. We kept learning and kept doing. We are now part of the family that runs toward danger and not away from it.” He instructed his fellow graduates, “Let us serve with skill and compassion as we work to make a difference in the lives of others, one heartbeat and one call at a time.”
In addition to demanding coursework, graduates of Northland Pioneer College’s nine-month EMT Paramedicine program must complete 240 clinical hours working rotations in hospitals throughout the area and put in an additional 260 vehicular ambulance hours. NPC offers two levels of EMT training. The training provides a two-step pathway to achieve certification as an emergency medical technician. Students who complete the first step become Emergency Medical Technicians-Basic. Students completing the second step become Emergency Medical Technician Paramedics. Upon completing the program, graduates will be eligible to take the certification tests for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and, upon successful completion, will be certified by the Arizona Department of Health Services. NPC also offers a certification renewal program. For more information, please contact EMS Coordinator Michelle Prentice at 928-532-6139 or email her at michelle.prentice@npc.edu.
For more photos from the graduation ceremony, visit the Photo Gallery.
