Mid-State student awarded $1,000 Wisconsin EMS Association Scholarship
By Brandi Makuski
The Wisconsin EMS Association has chosen a local student for its 2023-24 Academic Year Annual Scholarship.
Mid-State Technical College student Alexis Plaski has been chosen as the sole recipient of the $1,000 scholarship from WEMSA. She was presented with the award at the organization’s 2024 state conference in Green Bay, held Jan. 30 – Feb. 2.
WEMSA’s scholarship was made possible as part of a five-year commitment from the Schoenleber Foundation, Inc., to provide an annual scholarship of $1,000 to students enrolled in approved EMS programs in Wisconsin. WEMSA also evaluates applicants based on their résumé, a letter of recommendation, and statements about how they would benefit from the scholarship.
Plaski is a paramedic technician student at Mid-State with plans to graduate this May. She also works for the Amherst Fire District as both a firefighter and advanced EMT and at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh in the emergency department.
Her path in EMS began with Mid-State’s Emergency Medical Responder course, completed during her junior year of high school. After high school, she completed emergency medical technician training, followed a few years later with Advanced EMT certification.
In a press release from Mid-State, Plaski said she was “extremely thankful and grateful” for the scholarship.
“I am thankful for my community for their continuous support over the years, for not only me but for all who continue to serve the community,” she added.
Plaski said her long-term goals include working as a firefighter/paramedic for her hometown in Amherst and obtaining her critical care endorsement.
“I have been very impressed with Lexie’s vision and drive toward what she wants out of life,” said Rick Anderson, Associate Dean of the School of Public Safety at Mid-State. “To watch her advance her training in both fire and EMS has been inspiring, and I hope that other young women look at her role-modeling and decide to follow a similar path. I am proud of her efforts and can’t wait to see what her future chapters bring to the community she serves.”
The Wisconsin EMS Association Foundation is a 501c3 charitable organization that seeks to address the needs, and provide the means, to further the opportunities for the education and training of emergency medical services personnel; and to improve the health and well-being of communities through education to have a greater awareness of issues involving emergency medicine.
Starting the 2024-25 academic year, the WEMSA Foundation will be offering additional scholarships thanks to a partnership and establishment of the Lake Mills EMS Legacy Scholarship Program.
Learn more about Mid-State’s fire and EMS programs at mstc.edu/programs.
Amherst Fire Chief Victor Voss said Plaski was also recently awarded a scholarship from the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association, and she has been a member of the AFD since April 2018.
“She’s one of our rising stars,” Voss said.
