Paramedic program started lifelong career for alumna

By Brenna Eller
Editor in Chief

There are students who are lost and don’t know what they want to be, and there are those who know exactly the path they want to follow and plan everything in that direction.

Windom native, Abbey Burdette, known as Abbey Baldwin when she attended Hutchinson Community College, was taken back by the opportunities that HutchCC offered her when she was choosing her next step after graduating from Little River High School.

Burdette is now in the occupation she hoped for, a paramedic and since then has become a Registered Nurse as well at Kansas Heart Hospital in Wichita.

Maintaining both jobs, she has worked in the Intensive Care Unit and emergency room so far, and will keep aspiring to do what she loves.

When Burdette was still in high school, she obtained 15 credit hours, which ended up giving her a head start in her future and helped her graduate quicker at HutchCC, which she later did in 2014.

It didn’t take long for Burdette to believe HutchCC was the right school for her, and she found that the paramedic program was excellent and exactly what she wanted to do.

“I just felt like another number when I visited other schools,” Burdette said, “Then one day I decided I should look into being a medic, so I took my EMT, which is a prerequisite to paramedic and loved it.”

Burdette found that the HutchCC staff was encouraging and helpful from the moment she contacted them about the program and that being relatable and informative were two key aspects she appreciated about them and said, “They prepared, and set me up to succeed in a challenging career field.”

Burdette said she had an exceptional experience at HutchCC. She gained many friends and even met her husband Braden Burdette, who was also attending HutchCC at the time.

When Burdette was asked if she chose her school correctly, she said, “I enjoyed my time at HCC and definitely chose the right school. Some of my best college memories were from Hutch.”

Burdette encourages all who are interested in the paramedic program to experience everything HutchCC has to offer for themselves.

For those who are struggling to find a job or the right healthcare profession, the paramedic program can help one not only get a job fast, but give you a fulfillment in life.

“It was the right choice for me and I had a job before I even graduated,” Burdette said, “Additionally, being a paramedic has given me a great background for expanding my career even further.”

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