Early on in his time at The College of Idaho, Ahmad Hammoud desired to become a trip leader in the College’s Outdoor Program. One of the requirements to become a trip leader was to complete wilderness first responder training, which Hammoud enjoyed so much, that he wanted to continue and become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Little did he know at the time, but what began as a thirst for emergency training in the wilderness would someday save the life of a stranger in the most urban of Idaho settings.
Hammoud is as plugged in as any student to be found on the College’s campus. The junior from Lebanon already has a resume that easily spills onto several pages. He manages to balance his interest in student government, Greek life, residence life, and working in campus safety and as a student ambassador while double-majoring in computer science and business, specializing in data science and finance, while also minoring in Spanish. Despite all of those calendar-filling interests, the wilderness first responder training lit a fire in Hammoud.
“I loved that training so much,” Hammoud said. “To the point where I was like, I cannot stop here. I have to go further.”
Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Paul Bennion learned of Hammoud’s interest and desire for more EMT training, and they came up with a collaborative plan where the College would help support his pursuit of EMT certification and Hammoud would dedicate himself to using his knowledge to provide services to the greater College community, especially at events when the public is on campus.
“Supporting this student has resulted in having somebody with real expertise on campus at these events to support the entire community,” Bennion said. “He gets the real-life experience and we benefit from it as both a College of Idaho community and then as a local community when people visit our campus.”
Hammoud has earned his advanced EMT certification and to this date, has volunteered over 200 hours with the Payette County paramedics. He has also worked many events on campus and is the medical leader of the Outdoor Program.
In February, College administrators asked Hammoud to attend the annual Scholarship Gala, the College’s largest scholarship fundraising event of the year, which was held in downtown Boise on March 1. Hammoud selected his finest suit to wear to the event, and although he was not scheduled to work the event as an EMT, he decided to bring his bag with him from Caldwell to Boise anyway. “You never know. It was a just-in-case scenario,” he said.
As he and a few other students walked out of the parking garage across the street from the event center in downtown Boise, they spotted a man face down next to the curb, bleeding profusely from his face and head. Someone nearby stated that the man may have had a seizure and fell face-first onto the concrete. Hammoud sent one of his friends back to the car to retrieve his EMT bag while others called 9-1-1, and Hammoud snapped into action to help the injured man.
“I run to the person and see that they’re in a pool of blood,” Hammoud remembers. “He sustained a broken nose, a lot of deep cuts to his forehead, eyebrows, his eyes and lips. It looked like he had lost almost a liter of blood … He was not breathing, so I had to put an airway adjunct to just allow airflow into his lungs. I tried to take care of the bleeding as fast as possible, then I took care of the airway, then I stabilized his neck and spine. All of these things happened in minutes.”
Within a few additional minutes, the ambulance and paramedics arrived and took over. Hammoud gave them a quick report and they took the injured man away. Hammoud’s crisp white shirt did not survive the encounter, but he still managed to clean up and attended the Gala with a smile on his face, nobody the wiser about the life-saving heroics before the event.
Without a name or a connection to the patient, along with increased privacy restrictions, calls to the hospital where the injured man was treated have resulted in no information about how he fared. But one can assume that if Hammoud had not cleared his airway, he likely would have perished.
“Thankfully, the just-in-case happened, and I was ready for it,” Hammoud said.
Hammoud’s preparedness and willingness to serve is what stood out to Bennion. “That’s the part that makes you the most proud,” Bennion said. “He wasn’t specifically asked to work this event, but something could happen. The fact that he’s thinking that way, I think, is a tribute to the Yote family and what we do here. We try and look out for one another and that just extended all the way out to an event off-campus.”
The College of Idaho has a 133-year-old legacy of excellence. The College is known for its outstanding academic programs, winning athletics tradition, and history of producing successful graduates, including eight Rhodes Scholars, three governors, and countless business leaders and innovators. Its distinctive PEAK Curriculum challenges students to attain competency in the four knowledge peaks of humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and a professional field—empowering them to earn a major and three minors in four years. The College’s close-knit, residential campus is located in Caldwell, where its proximity both to Boise and to the world-class outdoor activities of southwest Idaho’s mountains and rivers offers unique opportunities for learning beyond the classroom. For more information, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.