Eric Giron is congratulated Thursday by Los Alamos Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Dawald on receiving a $500 scholarship from the Los Alamos Public Safety Association. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Los Alamos Fire Department and Police Department coins presented to Eric Giron and Heaven Talachy Thursday by the Los Alamos Public Safety Association. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Los Alamos Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Dawald, president of the Los Alamos Public Safety Association, congratulates Heaven Talachy Thursday on receiving a $500 scholarship from the LAPSA. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Eric Giron is congratulated by his mother, Valerie Huerta and his sister Katherine. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
Heaven Talachy is congratulated by her aunt, Agoya Duran. Photo by Maire O’Neill/losalamosreporter.com
BY MAIRE O’NEILL
Eric Giron says he has a lot of roots in the Los Alamos Fire Department. Since the dedication ceremony in 2016 of the LAFD Practical Learning Center to his late grandfather Percy Lujan who retired as an LAFD captain, Giron has wanted to be a firefighter.
Speaking at a Los Alamos Public Safety Association meeting Thursday, where he received a $500 scholarship for UNM-LA, Giron said said after he graduated from high school in May, he decided he wanted to better serve the community, help people out and make a difference.
“I want to eventually save lives. I decided I wanted to follow my grandfather’s footsteps and I am honored to be here today to accept this scholarship from LAPSA,” he said.
Heaven Talachy is working on an associates degree in Public Safety at UNM-LA and eventually wants to convert it into a Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management. She is currently an intern with the Los Alamos National Laboratory Emergency Management Division.
“My internship has made a huge impact on me and I want to further my education in that field and work for the LANL EMD Emergency Preparedness Group,” Talachy said.
She started taking classes at UNM-LA in 2017 after graduating from the Santa Fe Indian School. She said she became a certified emergency medical technician and did her clinicals at the Espanola hospital. She also visited the Santa Fe-Pojoaque Fire District .
“Being a firefighter was top of my list until I worked with the LANL EMD,” she said.
LAPSA president and Los Alamos Fire Department Deputy Chief Steve Dawald presented the two students with certificates as well as LAFD and Los Alamos Police Department coins.
Dawald also thanked the Los Alamos Sportsmen’s Club for sponsoring a fundraising event for LAPSA earlier this year which provided the funds for the scholarships.