“How To Save a Life:” Alyssa Petillo’s Story

What is “a calling?”  Maybe it’s a specific purpose; an intuitive sense of direction coupled with an innate ability to focus on an imaginary path as if it were always there — as solid as stone.  Some people just have it, and when you meet one of them you can instantly sense it.  If you met Alyssa Petillo and talked to her for just a few minutes about the things she’s already done in eighteen years of life, you’d recognize pretty quickly that she’s got “it.”

18 year-old Alyssa Petillo from Park Ridge, NJ is a state-certified EMT.

When we met with the Petillos at their home in Park Ridge, NJ her mother Collette nonchalantly shared a story from her daughter’s childhood.  Alyssa was on a play-date with a boy from school, and in the middle of playing the boy took a bad fall and lacerated his leg.  Instead of panicking, Alyssa took charge of the situation, demanding fresh bandages to stop the bleeding and antiseptic to clean the wound from the boy’s mother.  She was eight.

“That’s just my daughter,” Collette added with a slight shrug at the end of her story.   She seems used to Alyssa’s activities and endeavors by now.  Her daughter’s always on the move, energetic and seemingly always excited about what she’s talking to you about – especially when it’s the things that motivate her the most in life.  She’s passionate about people; getting involved in projects with them and working tirelessly until they meet their shared goal. She’s not scattered or easily-distracted; she’s focused, and when she starts something she does her best to follow through and finish it.  “That’s just the way my parents brought me up,” she says.

At Park Ridge High School, Alyssa was always in the middle of things.  She was…

• A Peer Mediator; working towards creating a bias-free environment and helping students resolve their issues with each other in a non-hostile way.

•  The President of Students Against Destructive Drunk Driving (S.A.D.D.); organizing and running events such as “Red Ribbon Week,” and “Grim Reaper Day.”

•  The Co-Founder of the Gay/Straight Alliance; an organization offering support to students in a homophobia-free school environment.

She said the motivation for creating the Gay/Straight Alliance came from, “a friend of mine wanted to come out, but she was afraid of what people would say or do.”  This was Alyssa’s way of letting that friend know that she not only supported her friend’s decision, but also – that she had her back.  Once the organization was created, they found a tremendous amount of support for it from the other students.

During her sophomore year, Alyssa met a girl not much older than her that was an EMT.  “She was wearing her uniform, and just looked so confident and sure of herself,” is what Alyssa remembers the most.  She went home and told Collette, “Mom, I want to be an EMT.”  Collette wasn’t surprised, and encouraged Alyssa to pursue it.

Alyssa underwent 131 hours of training and classes to pass her state certification exam and went on to join the local Tri-Boro First Aid Squad.  The decision was a “perfect fit,” for Alyssa who said about the experience, “the thing I like the most about being an EMT is the rush that I get when the pager goes off.  My mind switches into a different mode and I can’t wait to help others.”

On October 10^th, of 2010 Alyssa didn’t just help someone, she saved their life.  Responding to a cardiac arrest call, Alyssa and her crew discovered an elderly woman that was completely unresponsive.  Having to think and act quickly, Alyssa used all of her knowledge to resuscitate this woman – who is still alive to this very day. 10/10/10 will always be an important day for her, a reminder of not only what she’s done, but what she’s always capable of accomplishing.

In the Spring of 2011, Alyssa was awarded the Caron Youth Leadership Award for all of her outstanding work in her school and community.  Coming towards the end of her Senior Year at Park Ridge, this accomplishment is the perfect conclusion to Alyssa’s High School career.

 

In May of 2011, Alyssa was awarded the Caron Award for Youth Leadership.

Now attending DeSales University in Eastern, Pennsylvania – Alyssa plans to become a Physician’s Assistant after college.  While there though, it’s highly unlikely that Alyssa will keep a low profile.  She has all kinds of plans and ambitions – interested in joining the local Red Cross chapter and inspiring her fellow underclassmen to do the same.  She also plans to take the necessary state certifications in Pennsylvania to become an EMT there as well, once she “gets settled and comfortable with school.”  When it comes to what she’ll accomplish at college, most likely – this is only the very beginning.

“The feeling that I get when I help someone get better or I’m there for them is incredible,” she said, “it truly cannot be put into words.”  Based on what we learned, this quote’s a perfect fit for Alyssa – she doesn’t wait for others, nor does she need to talk about what she does or what she plans to do – she just acts.  And her actions make a positive difference in the lives of those around her.

 That’s why Alyssa Petillo is a Change-Maker. 

 

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