Kennedy Kourt recently took her Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) exam on June 6th and passed to receive her EMT certification. Kennedy is the daughter of Trista and Dustin Kourt and a 2024 Wagner Community School graduate. Kennedy is currently in the process of obtaining her state license after which she plans to apply to work for the Wagner-Lake Andes Ambulance District.

For Kennedy the process of becoming an EMT began January of this year. When asked about the process of becoming an EMT, Kennedy said that it starts by signing up and taking the class. For Kennedy, she chose to take the online class through Sanford online and did the skills labs in Winner at their ambulance service once a month. The labs are designed to test the skills learned in the online classroom material. Once someone has passed the class and the psychomotor exam (skills) then he or she can take the final certification exam. After passing the exam, then one can apply for their state and national licenses.

One of the most challenging aspects of becoming and EMT for Kennedy is the wait. South Dakota’s EMS system has recently adopted a new website for licensing and everyone is still adjusting to the system so it is taking a while to get licensed.

Kennedy remembers being 8 or 9 years old when she first decided that she wanted to become an EMT. When asked what made her first want to become an EMT, Kennedy said that she was not exactly sure what sparked her interest. Growing up she just always loved the career whether it was from watching EMT shows with her mom or talking to EMTs about their jobs. Mike Novak has been a huge help to Kennedy on her path to becoming an EMT. He gave her a lot of advice and wisdom from his career and experiences and what it takes to make it part of a career.

As Kennedy will be attending Augustana College to major in nursing this fall, she plans on working as EMT in college when her schedule allows her to. As a career, Kennedy would like to work as a flight medicine, so she thought that being an EMT would be instrumental to that position.

An an EMT, Kennedy is looking forward to being able to help on someone’s worst day and being able to be some one that they can look to for support. When asked if she sees anything as being a challenge when it comes to being an EMT, she said that she believes all health care fields have many challenges and can be difficult at times. Kennedy sees the outcome as being greater than how hard the process may be and it is something she can look forward to.

Kennedy would tell anyone young and looking to become an EMT that it is a great career for anyone looking into emergency medicine. She would also tell them that being an EMT will teach them many great skills that can save lives. In ten years, Kennedy sees herself working as a flight nurse somewhere in South Dakota.