Sergeant Christopher Parente Celebrates 20 Years of the FDNY High School

For the past 20 years, Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety has been a stepping stone for students aspiring to join the FDNY. In celebration of this milestone, Join FDNY is honoring our alumni who have committed themselves to public service and become part of the FDNY.

EMT Christopher Parente, a 2012 graduate and the salutatorian of his class, achieved a major career milestone in January 2025. Parente was part of the first class of EMTs promoted to EMS sergeant, making history as the first graduate of his high school to reach an officer position. He says he hopes to be a positive role model in his new supervisory role.

“I really enjoyed working as an EMT. I believe it’s important for people to see others in leadership roles who genuinely want to see them succeed and keep moving forward in this career,” said Sgt. Parente. “As a supervisor, you can make it better for employees as long as you’re doing the right thing. I always implore people to succeed and push themselves further than they think they can.”

Parente says the foundation for his career trajectory was set at the high school. He was the salutatorian of his class. Upon graduation, he entered the Summer Youth Leadership Academy before graduating from the EMS Academy in 2013.

“The high school did a tremendous job setting everyone up for success. Every year we got to do something different pertaining to the Fire Department. Then in your senior year, they had an EMT training course where we basically got a sense of what the EMS Academy would be. We also had a job readiness program taught by Assistant Commissioner Michele J. Maglione,” recalled Sgt. Parente. “For our final, we came to FDNY Headquarters where we had to have job interviews with different ranking officers and civilians throughout the Department.”