NEW YORK — A former FDNY EMT joined the department’s ranks once more and graduated from training as class valedictorian.
ABC7 reported that Donna Jaworski, 48, initially served as an EMT for 10 years before resigning in 2003 to care for her family and spent the next 16 years training others to follow in her footsteps.
She responded to 9/11 alongside her veteran firefighter father, William Kammerer, and her husband, NYPD Lt. Chris Jaworski.
“We met on the job this way many years ago, so we both have a strong passion for the police and fire departments,” Chris said. “To see her going back today is not shocking. I know how much she loves it.”
Jaworski said there’s nothing else she’d rather do.
“There is nothing else I can picture myself doing,” she said. “This is a calling for me, and I think any first responder would say the same. It’s something that you love to do. It’s something that you are born to do.”
Jaworski, who was nicknamed “Momma Donna” by her classmates, said the 14 weeks of training were challenging.
“A lot, for me, was overcoming my own self-doubt at this stage of the game, because I was twice the age of most of these kids,” she said. “But I think that if you really love something, don’t let fear get in the way.”
Kammerer said he’s proud of his daughter’s achievements.
“She is as happy as I’ve seen her in years,” he said. “She got into the class with all these kids, and she kept up with them doing push-ups and all of that. I’m really proud of her, I am.”