Christendom’s Career and Professional Development Office hosted a Life on Tap on September 25, welcoming back alumni Helena Briggs ‘19 and Nate Scanlon ‘22, who shared their insights and successes with the student body about working as first responders.
Helena Briggs joined the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in 2023 and is serving as a firefighter in Springfield; previously she served as a missionary with Catholic Sports in Alexandria to build young adult community through recreational sports. She hopes to attend Paramedic school in 2025. In March 2023, Nate Scanlon started in the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Academy and graduated that September with certifications as an EMT, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Hazmat Operations. He lives in Front Royal, Virginia, and works at Fire and Rescue Station 515 in Haymarket.
While Briggs and Scanlon both have a variety of certifications in first responders work, they both agree that the main focus of the job is helping people. Scanlon had always planned on going into firefighting, before entering college but Briggs simply knew she wanted to serve others in a tangible way, eventually discerning that God was calling her to work on the front lines helping others. Contrary to popular belief, Scanlon and Briggs stated that 80-90% of their work is patient examination and medical care rather than fighting fires.
“You are constantly dealing with people,” Briggs remarks, “Both with your team and the civilians you help.”
The application process to serve as first responders is quite lengthy and physically demanding. As avid hikers and sportsmen, Briggs and Scanlon were at an advantage in their training but admitted that the physical challenges are a main reason many candidates are not accepted. Firefighting is fast-paced with a very demanding schedule, which both alumni stated was one of the hardest aspects to adjust to once they started working in the field. Finding time and energy on their off days to socialize and engage in enriching activities takes real effort but is necessary to maintain balance.
Because firefighters and EMTs have such a demanding schedule and constantly deal with high-stress situations, both Briggs and Scanlon highlighted the importance of remaining firm in the Faith and one’s identity. “You basically live with your team half the time,” Scanlon says. “You have to be careful about what habits are rubbing off on you.” Both alumni stated that this was where their Christendom education was incredibly helpful. As a Philosophy major, Briggs claims, “Christendom prepares your understanding of the human person while also providing strong faith formation. In the rough environment of first response work,” she continues, “Christendom gives you a firm foundation.”
Ultimately, the Christendom liberal arts curriculum, far from limiting its graduates in their future careers, opens the door to a world of possibilities in every major field. Through the study of the Catholic liberal arts, Christendom’s students encounter a universal study of knowledge — through mathematics, history, literature, classics, and political science — unified by the central role of philosophy and theology.
The Life on Tap series connects successful alumni in various fields with current students, demonstrating the paths that countless alumni have taken to succeed after graduating. The Career and Professional Development Office typically organizes three Life on Tap events every semester which are open to all students.
For more information on Christendom’s networking resources, as well as previous Life on Tap recordings, visit here.
