FDNY Youth Members Complete the 2024 Summer Leadership Academy

Congratulations to the more than 80 teens from the Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety and FDNY Explorers who completed the 2024 Summer Youth Leadership Academy. This year’s academy is the largest ever, aimed at equipping students for the upcoming school year. Held over a week at the EMS Academy in Fort Totten, this intensive program blends academics with technical and physical training.

“It’s great to see students start from nothing and develop throughout the whole week. I think the hardest part for the students is understanding that big word ‘discipline.’ They come here and expect fun and games, but this Academy is about purpose, and that’s to learn about teamwork, to push one another, to get motivated, and to learn about what it means to be a leader,” said Anthony Gadison, FDNY Youth Program Manager.

Mid-week students tackled a physically demanding bear crawl exercise across a large field. They worked as a team to cross the finish line together. When they struggled with the intensity of the challenge, the students relied on each other to push through the pain and discomfort and complete the task.

“It was difficult because we were uncoordinated but after a while we started to speed up and get the rhythm,” said incoming high school junior Taman Thomas.  “You realize you have to help them out and motivate them to come up with everyone else.”

Students also learned lifesaving skills such as CPR, something that had special meaning for incoming high school senior Desiree Ruiz. In April 2023, her father Wilfredo suffered a cardiac arrest at home. Her friend, a fellow student at the Vernon A. Richard High School, happened to be there and immediately performed CPR until FDNY EMTs arrived. She says her goal is to become an EMT and then promote to Paramedic. “What happened with my dad showed me that EMTs and Paramedics really make a difference in the world, and that just inspired me a lot,” said Ruiz. “I can be capable of doing that.”

A small completion ceremony took place on Saturday, with family and friends of the students. “This year’s theme was ‘Leaning In,’ and it was incredibly gratifying to see them learn something new about themselves, whether it’s pushing their limits, their ability to overcome challenges, or developing resilience. They became more confident of themselves and in their abilities, and it showed,” said Michele J. Maglione, Assistant Commissioner of Youth Workforce Development.