Spokane Valley Tech: Alaina Kudrna will balance fire department duties, college studies at UI
Spokane Valley Tech senior Alaina Kudrna has kept a packed schedule all through high school. She doesn’t see that changing anytime soon as she prepares for a firefighter residency program while attending the University of Idaho in the fall.
Kudrna has attended Spokane Valley Tech for all four years of high school, recruited by her older sister. “She really liked it,” Kudrna said. “… It’s definitely a different experience from what I’ve seen of normal high school. It’s a very small community and easy to get involved.”
She said she really likes that classes are small and teachers have time to give attention to every student. One class was just her and one other student.
The other reason she was attracted to Spokane Valley Tech is that she wanted to enroll in the school’s EMT program. She said she likes the idea of doing something that helps people while also putting something good back into the community. “I’ve known for a while I wanted to do something medical related,” she said.
In addition to studying for finals, Kudrna has also been getting ready for her EMT exam in June. “I’ve been studying a lot for it lately,” she said.
This year she has also been president of the HOSA club, which is for students interested in joining a medical field. She went to the HOSA state competition for EMT and medical spelling, where she took sixth place.
She is also the starting catcher on the University High School softball team, a role she has filled for four years. “It’s one of my favorite parts of my day,” she said.
She also plays club softball to keep her skills sharp. “Softball takes up most of my time,” she said.
Teacher Elizabeth Warren said Kudrna is a student who takes advantage of every opportunity that is available to her. “Alaina is a standout student at Spokane Valley Tech,” Warren said. “Alaina works hard, shows up consistently and is an excellent representative of Spokane Valley Tech. She is a student that our staff can count on to be an example for others.”
Kudrna has also been preparing for her next step. She learned about a Moscow Fire Department resident program, which will allow her to go on calls and live in a fire station while also attending college full-time.
The resident program is competitive. Kudrna said she sent in an application early this year and the department selected 25 people to interview. She also had to pass a physical test that included carrying fire hoses and other firefighting related tasks. In the end, she was one of a handful of people selected for the program. “It was really fun,” she said of the application experience.
The fire department program is the cherry on top of her studies at the University of Idaho. “I was going to go there anyway because they have a really good forensics program,” she said.
Kudrna said she is considering a career in forensics “if I don’t get sucked into the whole firefighter thing,” she said. “I just wanted to do something cool.”