The Student Health Advisory Council, working with the American Red Cross, ran its second annual CPR clinic on campus Saturday, April 10, certifying 69 Whitman students.
The clinic was organized in an effort to make Whitman’s campus a healthier and safer place for its students.
“The goal of SHAC is to promote the health and well being of students here at Whitman and one of the greatest ways to do that is to teach people what happens and what to do when someone’s health in acutely in danger,” said sophomore Fritz Siegert, the president of SHAC. “Having a student on hand who knows how to respond in an emergency may make all the difference.”
Olivia Kipper, a first-year who attended the clinic last Saturday, said that she was encouraged by her debate coach to get certified.
“When we’re on trips, if we’re all CPR certified we’re all safer,” Kipper said. She added her support for the idea of requiring clubs to have at least some of their members certified.
While being prepared was certainly on the minds of most of the students who attended, another reason many students spent their Saturday getting certified was for their work resumes.
“A lot of the people that were taking the class with me were taking it for jobs or internships,” said Miranda Morton, a first-year who also attended the clinic.
Not only do employers look favorably at CPR certification, but many jobs require it.
“”It’s always great to do these in the spring because everyone is applying for summer jobs, internships, life guarding, etc. and a CPR certification looks really great on any sort of resume,” said Siegert.
Morton, who is planning to spend her summer working at a camp, said that her job requires the CPR certification.
“It’s really awesome that Whitman is helping out to facilitate their students being able to get jobs easier,” she said.
The clinic is still being fined-tuned by the SHAC. Last year, it was free to students, as the $25 fee was covered by ASWC. This year, because of the increase in expected student turnout, ASWC only covered $20 of the fee and students were left to pay the remaining $5.
“It’s still pretty much the cheapest deal in town,” said Siegert.
The Student Health Advisory Council hopes to maximize the number of students being certified while minimizing the costs. In just one year SHAC increased attendance to the event by nearly 20 students.
“We are a small club that wants to make a big difference,” said Siegert.
