Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Marquette Wire and is reprinted here with permission.
What started as a far-off dream quickly escalated into a passion project built to serve students for years to come.
When Avary Benavides Shefland, a senior in the College of Nursing, told a friend in passing that she liked the idea of a student-run emergency medical services unit, she never imagined Marquette University would yield a 20-person crew just over a year later.
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It all started at a Marquette University Student Government constituent dinner in February 2025, where former MUSG Vice President Logan Meyer gathered ideas to improve campus. Benavides Shefland’s friend, who attended the dinner, remembered their prior conversation and suggested an EMS service to MUSG.
Apparently student government liked the idea, Benavides Shefland said, because it wasn’t long before she met with MUSG, the director of Marquette’s Medical Clinic and the Marquette University Police Department. From there, she met with other university officials and Aurora Sinai medical directors to write policies and procedures for the EMS service.
“It was amazing to see everybody work together for this,” she said.
Benavides Shefland spent nearly eight months developing the program. She scheduled meetings, planned operations and conducted research, all while being a student and working a full-time job.
The unit officially hit the ground running earlier this month.
“I can’t even describe the feeling of when we took our first run,” Benavides Shefland said.
“I cried after because it was just that cool.”
With the inception of the unit, on-call Marquette students are available to respond in their EMS van to immediate medical needs until an ambulance arrives. Benavides Shefland said the team can handle almost anything, from stopping bleeding to delivering a baby. They have responded to approximately 16 calls within the last few weeks.
She and the university are also committed to keeping services free for students, she said.
To first assess how to make the program possible, Benavides Shefland packed her car and drove across the country. She spent nights with the students running university EMS units at Villanova and Georgetown Universities. She shadowed them on call, spent hours speaking with them and even stayed the night at their houses.
After that, she was hooked, she said.
“This is what we could be,” she said to herself, impressed by what she observed. “They’re students, just like us, but they’re running full blown emergency services.”
Marquette’s student EMS program is the only one in the state of Wisconsin.
“[It’s] a group of students who put forth a grassroots effort to just do something good and to help the campus and community,” Assistant Police Chief Jeff Kranz, said. “When you bring that attitude to the table, you can’t help but succeed.”
Kranz accompanied Benavides Shefland to the annual Milwaukee Ambulance Service Board meeting in the fall where they proposed the idea of starting an EMS unit run by nationally registered EMTs who are also full-time students. If the plan didn’t get approved, she would’ve had to wait another year.
But after receiving the green light at the meeting, Benavides Shefland was able to start bringing people onto the team.
The EMS unit operates in the MUPD patrol zone Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., but hours will be extended once the crew expands and has more experience on Marquette’s unit.
The unit currently operates at an emergency medical responder level — one below emergency medical technician. Benavides Shefland said the team is working towards operating at the EMT level and certifying students to train each other.
Because students with any major and career path can join, those currently on the unit encourage others to earn their EMT license to gain valuable experiences through this job.
Jackson Fogarty, a junior in the College of Nursing, said having an EMT skillset is something that can be useful in everyday life, even if a student’s dream isn’t to work in an ambulance full time.
“The more people that are trained, the better outcomes we’re going to have,” he said.
Benavides Shefland said being able to respond to high-stress situations calmly, making decisions quickly and communicating effectively “even when your heart is racing and pounding in your ears” are all skills someone can learn from the job.
Something special about Marquette’s EMS program, Fogarty said, is knowing students are helping people in the same community as them. The team feels its “by students, for students” model adds a level of meaning and comfortability.
Though Benavides Shefland is graduating this May, she plans to stay connected to the EMS unit at least during the summer to keep the ball rolling.
“I think it’s fair to say that at some point, we’ll save some lives, which is a cool thing to imagine,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elena Metinidis is a news reporter with the Marquette Wire. She can be reached at elena.metinidis@marquette.edu.
