Ali Grechko poses in the Grand Canyon, where she has been a river guide, thanks to training from Outdoor Adventures. (Outdoor Adventures/UC Davis photo)
Campus activities program inspires students' careers
When Ali Grechko, a recent graduate from UC Davis, found herself the first to arrive after a vehicle overturned off Highway 50 last summer, she relied on her emergency medical training to rescue a woman and her 18 month-old child trapped inside.
She had never been the first on the scene of a serious accident. Despite the uncertainty of the situation, though, Grechko knew how to handle the situation. Luckily, the woman was pried free by firefighters and received only minor injuries. Her child didn't suffer a scratch.
Grechko, who graduated in December 2005, trained to be an EMT and wilderness first responder at Outdoor Adventures on campus as a student, where she continues to guide white water rafting trips, teach basic CPR and first aid, and coordinate water activities as a staff member.
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Thousands of students like Grechko participate in trips each year through the campus's Outdoor Adventures program. The program offers a diversity of activities for Davis students, university affiliates and the general public, including whitewater rafting, backpacking, rock climbing and sea kayaking.
Participants can go beyond basic first aid and CPR courses into advanced courses such as Wilderness First Responder and EMT. Many are inspired to become involved and take on leadership roles as guides and student managers.
Grechko tried out the campus program more than three and a half years ago, after a Memorial Day trip to Klamath in 2002.
‘Ideally, I would like to somehow incorporate medicine with the wilderness.’
Student Ali Grechko
After her experience with the crash, Grechko says she doubly appreciates that her current position as water coordinator entails more than just helping people have a good time on the river; it includes ensuring their safety and confidence throughout the trip.
"I do feel like my EMT and wilderness first-responder training prepared me really well," she said, "especially in their final scenarios… you definitely get an adrenaline rush."
What for many guides began as a way to blow off steam on the weekends or to learn how to handle medical emergencies led them down a path of leadership and adventure. Grechko, for instance, aspires to be a physician's assistant but wants to also experience medicine from a first responder's role.
"I like being the go-to medical person," she says. "Ideally, I would like to somehow incorporate medicine with the wilderness."