Housatonic student of the week – JONAH WHITESIDE

The Lakeville Journal congratulates the honorees of the student of the week program at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.National Emergency Medical Services Week this year runs to May 21. Training begins early for emergency service volunteers, and a significant number of junior volunteers are students at Housatonic Valley Regional High School — including our student of the week, Jonah Whiteside.In addition to maintaining high grades at Housatonic, Jonah has high aspirations for a career in the field of emergency medicine. He has recently earned his EMT Basic certification, which allows him to work with the Cornwall Fire Department as a junior member. Jonah hopes to study emergency medicine as a combat medic in the Army Reserves. In preparation for this medical training, Jonah devotes himself to studying biology with instructor Letitia Garcia-Tripp, whom he finds inspiring.Much of Jonah’s civic-minded spirit can be traced to his parents, James and Carla, a paramedic and a teacher, respectively. With his father, Jonah has volunteered six times to build houses for families in Mexico, and he clearly finds inspiration in his father’s career path.Additionally, Jonah is a talented athlete, and has spent the past two years at Housatonic trying out various sports. Only a sophomore, he has already played football, basketball, tennis and track. All that cross-training should prepare him well for Army Reserve Basic Training, which he hopes to undergo next summer.