Jair Hawkins, a 2020 Vol State EMS program graduate, was recently on his honeymoon cruise with his new wife Hailey. While on the cruise, Jair used his training and education to save a woman’s life by using a defibrillator to jumpstart the woman’s heart.
The Hawkins family is filled with heroes. Jair’s father, Jerrod, has had a long career as an EMT, and his mother, Amy, has been credited with saving Jair and his brother’s life in 2006.
In April 2006, an F-3 tornado ripped across Middle Tennessee and blasted into the Hawkins family home in Hendersonville. As the tornado hit the house, Amy covered her two boys with her own body to protect them. While she succeeded in protecting the boys, she had major injuries that would lead to her being paralyzed from the waist down. (You can read more on this story in the Fall 2018 Vol State Vision magazine, page 2.)
The tornado continued its destructive path and did significant damage to buildings on the Vol State Gallatin campus.
Jair’s mom’s heroic action was never lost on him. Add to that the inspiration from his dad’s work as an EMT, and Jair knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. In Fall 2018, he was accepted into the Vol State Emergency Medical Technician Basic Program. Fast forward to today and Jair is a firefighter in Portland, TN.
Way to go Jair! You make your family and your Vol State family proud.
Jair’s story was recently a report on NewsChannel 5 Nashville.
