Reflections Magazine Issue #77 - Fall 2012 | Page 18

Feature Article

Education: The Best Medicine
Kara Grigsby White ’12 has spent most of her professional career helping others in an emergency. As an
emergency medical technician and paramedic, that is
almost an everyday occurrence. However, one morning
she woke up and realized that the emergency situation
she had to respond to was her own.
“I have a rare brain disorder called Arnold Chiari Malformation that
I did not know I had until I woke up one morning unable to speak,
walk or even sit up,” White said. “This disorder affects the cerebellum
portion of my brain, and it had herniated into my spinal cord and basically paralyzed me.”
Her condition required immediate emergency brain surgery, and
she was on a strict recovery schedule for the next four or five months.
However, she was enrolled in Siena Heights University’s Online Program
at the time.
“It was very difficult, because this disorder directly affected my ability to focus, and the pain it caused was most of the time unbearable,”
White said. “At one point I was given the option to stop my studies and
come back after I was better, but I declined. I was so close to finishing
and was determined to earn my bachelor’s degree. … Earning my bachelor’s degree became a priority because I wanted to teach and educate
new students to have the passion and care that I have for my patients.

Also, in my state (Arkansas), in order to teach any EMS class a bachelor’s
degree is required.”
In May, White, still recovering from her surgery, amazingly completed her Bachelor of Applied Science degree with SHU in respiratory care
and EMT/paramedic.
“Having the option to do online classes made this struggle easier
because I worked at a pace that would not affect my recovery in a negative way,” White said of her SHU experience.
And her degree paid quick dividends. Less than eight months from
her surgery, she was hired by Arkansas Northeastern College as director of its EMS Programs. Her new responsibilities include establishing
a proper program course, screening potential students for the course
and making sure they meet the requirements to test at national level
once the course is completed.
“I needed to cut back my ambulance time and field time to continue
to properly heal,” White said. “Being in the classroom gives me the time
I need and lets me follow my dream of education.”
She remains a paramedic and currently balances her time between
the field and the classroom.
“I am not sure that I could ever not be in the EMT field,” White said.
“I have a passion to help, and that is a direct way I can fill that passion.
Being in the classroom allows me to indirectly fill that passion through
my students.”

Kara Grigsby White—2012 Graduate, Online Program
Major: Respiratory Care, EMT Paramedic
Career: Director of EMS, Arkansas Northeastern College
Out of the Ordinary Factoid: The paramedic discovered sh