Skip to Main Content
Menu
Roane State Community CollegeRoane State Community College

Roane State Community College

News
  1. RSCC HomeRSCC Home
  2. About Roane State
  3. Public Relations
  4. News
Move Forward. Don't delay your future! Apply now! Register for online or traditional classes.Move Forward. Don't delay your future! Apply now!. Register for online or traditional classes.
Tennessee Reconnect and Promise. Graduating high school seniors can attend tuition-free. Free tuition for adults.Tennessee Reconnect and Promise. Graduating high school seniors can attend tuition-free. Free tuition for adults.
Online degrees available. Choose from seven completely online programs.Online degrees available. Choose from seven completely online programs.

News: Roane Paramedics, ‘tip of the spear,’ honored upon graduation

Jesse Helton, second from left, was honored as the Paramedic of the Year during a program on the eve of their graduation from the three-semester course. From left: David Blevins, director of EMS education, Helton, Assistant Professor Tom Herron and Dr. Pat O’Brien, medical director for Roane State’s EMS program.

Jesse Helton, second from left, was honored as the Paramedic of the Year during a program on the eve of their graduation from the three-semester course. From left: David Blevins, director of EMS education, Helton, Assistant Professor Tom Herron and Dr. Pat O’Brien, medical director for Roane State’s EMS program.

 

Dec. 6, 2019

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

A dozen Roane State students who completed the community college’s grueling three-semester paramedic program were honored during a recent luncheon, and one student was honored by his peers as the Paramedic Student of the Year.

“You’re the next generation,” said Roane State Director of EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Education Director David Blevins. “EMS is the tip of the spear” in emergency medical situations, Blevins said, telling the graduates, “You create calm out of the storm.”

“To say we are proud of you is an understatement,” said Roane State President Chris Whaley. “We know how hard you worked.”

Named Paramedic of the Year was Jesse Helton, a Knoxville resident and an employee of the Rural/Metro Fire Department. Helton had to take a leave of absence from last year’s class because he had been called up for Army National Guard service and became injured in the interim.

The graduation luncheon marked the start of the 31st year of the partnership between TEAMHealth and Roane State to honor the hard work and dedication of these individuals.

Dr. Randall Dabbs, Co-Founder and President of TEAMHealth, provided the following comments to the graduating class: “The education, quality and partnership of our EMS and paramedics have always held a position of priority for TEAMHealth. Our clinicians count on your professionalism and expertise to help care for the East Tennessee Community.”

This class began last January, and another paramedic training program commenced in August. Classroom sessions for the latest group were daylong events twice weekly, and students also spent 580 hours training at hospitals and in ambulances, said Tom Herron.

Herron is an assistant professor and clinical coordinator of the program. “It’s really amazing how you watch them (students) grow by leaps and bounds,” he said. “I feel this group has taught me as much about myself as I’ve taught them.”

“You’re joining the ranks of the elite,” Blevins told class members. “You’re truly the special operations unit of healthcare.”

Honored were Helton, Preston C. Bowers, Corey A. Dantzler, James W. Horton, Elizabeth K. Rollson, Justin Pierce, Steven B. Stout, Monika P. Cordell, Charles E. Justice, Aaron Noe, Michael D. Sills and Nathanael C. White.

Three graduates of Roane State’s latest paramedics program received gag gifts during a luncheon in their honor. From left: Aaron Noe, Wes Horton and Blake Stout.

Three graduates of Roane State’s latest paramedics program received gag gifts during a luncheon in their honor. From left: Aaron Noe, Wes Horton and Blake Stout.

 

Roane State is a two-year college providing transfer programs, career-preparation programs and continuing education. Founded in 1971, the college has campuses in Crossville, Harriman, Huntsville, Jamestown, Knoxville, LaFollette, Lenoir City, Oak Ridge, Wartburg and Clinton. For more information, visit www.roanestate.edu or call (865) 882-4554.

Remember, eligible adults can now attend Roane State tuition-free with the new Reconnect grant. Learn more at www.roanestate.edu/reconnect.

Connect with us

Twitter / XFacebookInstagramThreadsYoutube
© Roane State Community College

Roane State Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity or national origin, sex, disability, age, status as protected veteran or any other class protected by Federal or State laws and regulation and by Tennessee board of Regents policies with respect to employment, programs, and activities.​​​​​​​ View full non-discrimination policy.

Tennessee's Community Colleges

Report Fraud, Waste and Abuse

Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998