Senior photo of Brody Garvin from November. (Photo provided by Brody Garvin)

MARIETTA — Brody Garvin is pursuing his dreams to be a flight medic upon graduating from high school in the spring.

To work towards his career, Garvin is enrolled in the Fire/EMS program at the Washington County Career Center.

“I want to help people and that’s just always something I’ve wanted to do,” he said.

The EMS program will provide him with the basic knowledge needed to pursue a career in emergency medical services. He said there’s Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support career opportunities but he has to become certified and work his way up to those positions.

“At the career center, I’ll graduate with my EMT license but for my academic classes I’m taking college math, history and composition,” said Garvin.

Brody Garvin holds his certificate for the National Technical Honor Society during the induction ceremony in March. (Photo provided by Brody Garvin)

He said he’s enrolled in the dual program so he has college courses through the Washington State College of Ohio.

“I start my morning at the career center for two classes and then I have an online psychology class that I do and after I leave from school I either go to work or I do ride time on the ambulance,” he said.

As part of Garvin’s EMS program, he regularly shadows local ambulance drivers and emergency personnel during routine shifts. He said he often shadows the Marietta and Belpre fire departments.

“It’s a new thing for seniors and I’ve been shadowing but so far it’s just been sitting with them at the station,” he said.

When Garvin described his experience shadowing the fire departments, he said he hadn’t been there when there were any calls.

Brody Garvin stands in front of the U.S. Capital in Washington, D.C., during his time on the Sandy Hook Promise National Youth Advisory Board trip in 2024. (Photo provided by Brody Garvin)

“I’ll normally shadow after school from 2 to 6 p.m. whenever I have the time or I’m not working,” said Garvin.

While enrolled in the Fire/EMS program, Garvin is also in the color guard for the Fort Frye High School marching band. He said he joined the color guard his junior year.

“I played trumpet from my seventh to tenth grade years,” he said. “My favorite part is being able to perform a show that we’ve built from the ground up.”

As a previous musician and current member on the color guard, Garvin is well versed in the art of performance and music. He said he found that he enjoys being on the color guard because it allows him the opportunity to be more performative and artistic.

Since the regular marching band season ended earlier this fall, Garvin is now focused on winter guard which he said is a little bit more relaxed than the regular season.

Brody Garvin, second from front, stands at attention in the Fort Frye High School color guard during the regular marching band season September 2024. (Photo provided by Brody Garvin)

When asked how he manages classes, EMS training and color guard practice he said it’s good to establish a routine.

“It’s definitely not easy but it’s something I’m willing to do because it’s what I want to do after high school,” said Garvin.

From ninth to tenth grade, Garvin was selected to be on the Sandy Hook Promise National Youth Advisory Board. Thirteen kids from across the country, who have applied, are selected to be on the board and they assist with outreach and networking for the Sandy Hook Promise.

Sandy Hook Promise is a nonprofit organization with the goal of educating the public on gun violence and prevention.

“I was selected to be on the board to talk about my experience with gun violence and mental health,” he said. “As young kids we could relate to this with other young kids and they could get the message better…it’s a stigma that kids don’t really like to talk about.”

Garvin said they would discuss mental health, suicide and gun violence.

“We visited Washington, D.C., and met some of our current lawmakers,” said Garvin.

Garvin is also a participant in SkillsUSA and the National Technical Honor Society at the career center.

SkillsUSA is a nationwide program where students work with their instructors to practice and improve their skills in a specific area. Garvin said they compete in local competitions which can go on to statewide and national competitions.

Since he’s in the Fire/EMS program at the career center, he said he works on technical and workplace skills that would be beneficial for those positions.

He said for NTHS, he works on local projects within the community or at the school.

“Marching band is probably my favorite out of all of them because it’s something I can use as a getaway,” he said. “If I’m having a really stressful day, it’s something I can use to escape all of that.”

He said he’s learned a lot of things from marching band like how to be a leader and work with others on a team to achieve a goal.

With Garvin’s busy schedule, he said he doesn’t have much free time to do other things aside from hanging out with his friends.

He said they all enjoy going to the movies and hanging out at each other’s houses.

Garvin also spends some time with his three older brothers and twin. He said they all tend to do their own thing but if they have time they’ll hangout.

“I’m technically 90 seconds younger than my twin so I like to use that against him,” he joked.

Garvin was born in Beverly but said they currently live in Marietta. He said he’s looking forward to the start of his career upon graduation.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com

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