Safety Training and New Projects :: Alana Calles

Something we have been working on this new semester is starting off working on First Aid training, by the American Heart Association.  All of the students got to work on very detailed pieces of first aid starting with learning how to use CPR including how to give adequate and effective compressions and breaths, in case someone may need it. Along with that, we learned to recognize the appropriate times that CPR may need to be given. As we continued learning about safety issues and how to deal with them, we added more knowledge. Soon, we began to learn to use an AED to get the heart pumping again through electrical currents. Once we got tested and certified for that, we then learned how to do the same thing on infants, and learned how to treat them whenever they are in danger such as choking or making sure that they are breathing. Once we got all of our practice on the CPR dummies, we then got to watch the long series of videos about more in depth things that may happen and how to make sure you know how to save someone when they are or may be hurt.

We learned things such as how to treat broken bones, poisoning, shock, heat shock, and many things in that realm. I personally believe that this is extremely useful to know, since you never know when someone could be in danger, and it’s always good to learn to be safe rather than sorry. It’s important to take this training seriously that way we know how to not panic or do something that may harm the person more, so making sure that we knew all the details of common things that could happen is a very important life skill that sadly not everyone has the upper hand at knowing. I believe this kind of thing should be taught in every school, that way more knowledgeable people can save more harmed people! It was enjoyable.

After we completed the first aid certifications, we started in different groups working on different projects, involving various things. Formerly known as JIA Seats, Ilana, Jennifer, and I have been working on a new idea, roughly something that can be used in a small space, such as an apartment or a dorm room. We felt this would be extremely appropriate since we are all going to be heading to college soon, so this actually has a direct application to us. Brainstorming is difficult at first, since we cannot come up with anything that is a new, useful invention. Something that also prevents us from having potential ideas is that we are not in a college dorm yet, so we do not yet know what would be useful enough! We are not first hand college dorm students yet, so at this point we are simply imagining college dorm life and thinking about what may be useful to have. So far, what we have come up with is some sort of college dorm locker, specifically something that may fit snugly in a shower, so that students may be able to have all their shower items in the shower instead of bringing it back and forth from their dorm room to the showers they share with their peers. We targeted this more towards spaces you have to share more with others, such as community showers, dorm rooms, or apartments with multiple people. As a group, we liked the idea of a locker, since someone who is sharing their space may have limited privacy, so at least in a locker they are certain that this is their own space to have.

There are limitations to the ideas, but we’re roughly in the beginning stages, and as a group I believe this new project will have a more personal connection to us.