Education/training
Seneca grad a lifeline for people in dangerEvery time Melanie Wynn picks up the phone, it could be a life and death situation. As an emergency communications operator with York Region Police, she serves as a lifeline for people in distress. TOM BARTSIOKAS -- Special to the Sun |
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 [ 2007-10-03 ] |
After completing Seneca's one-year 911 and Emergency Services Communications program, Melanie Wynn is an emergency communications operator with York Region Police.
"The satisfaction you get from this job is huge," Wynn says. "To know that you helped that person out when they called 911 is very rewarding."
OFFICE MANAGER
Prior to working for the police, Wynn earned her living as an office manager for 10 years. Looking for a career that allowed her to help others, the 36-year-old enrolled in Seneca's 911 and Emergency Services Communications program, a one-year program that prepares graduates for successful careers as emergency services operators and dispatchers with 911 call centres and other public safety agencies.
"This program was instrumental in helping me establish my new career," Wynn says. "It was the perfect stepping stone for me and I know I wouldn't have my job without it."
Nycole Harding, co-ordinator of the 911 and Emergency Services Communications program, says the program was designed in consultation with emergency service agencies and covers all aspects of the job.
In the first semester students take courses in law, psychology, public safety, stress management and conflict management, while in the second semester they get to practise everything they learned by role playing as 911 operators and dispatchers.
"People find out in the first couple of weeks that this program is not easy," Harding says. "The subjects we touch on, and the training, is pretty intense, because we deal with death, dying, abuse, suicide -- everything.
Some people can't handle it, but on a day-to-day basis this is exactly what they will be expected to handle on the job."
INTENSE WORK DAY
In a 12-hour work day, Wynn will receive hundreds of calls that range from medical emergencies and robberies, to neighbour and domestic disputes.
Regardless of how intense her work gets, she is enjoying her new career.
"I really like helping people and what better way to help others than working as an emergency operator for York Region Police?" she says. "This wouldn't have been possible without Seneca and great teachers like Nycole Harding."
For more information on the 911 and Emergency Services Communications program visit: http://www.senecac.on.ca/fulltime/ESC.html.
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