Aspiring EMT awarded DaryLynne Hellekson Day Memorial Scholarship

Anaconda Junior/Senior High School graduating senior Sadie Smoke is someone who is prepared for just about anything.

“I always have Band-Aids in my car and an actual first-aid kit,” Smoke said. “I always have Tylenol, Excedrin. I’m overly prepared for every situation.”

Now, halfway through the Emergency Medical Technician course at Whiteline Consulting and Training in Butte, she’s well on her way toward coming to the aid of those who are unprepared for the worst moments of their lives.

Smoke was recently awarded the DaryLynne Hellekson Day Memorial Scholarship, which was established in memory of the late DaryLynne Hellekson Day, an AHS graduate and Powell County Ambulance EMT who died on Aug. 18, 2019 while working the demolition derby at the Tri-County Fair in Deer Lodge. Day was pushing a crowd of people out of the way when she was hit by a derby car that was out of control. Seven other people were injured in the accident. 

Day graduated Anaconda High School in 2001, and the scholarship is awarded by her family and dedicated to her life and passion, according to the scholarship application. The scholarship helps ensure “her legacy and heroic deeds will be remembered forever.”

"I'm so grateful honestly," Smoke said of receiving the scholarship. "I thought someone else would apply and get it."

Like Day, Smoke has a passion for helping people, which she said is why she decided to become an EMT.

“My entire family, the women are either making them or picking them up,” Smoke said, meaning they’re either bartenders or in the medical field. She also isn't squeamish, (except for vomiting), an important quality in an EMT.

Smoke said she originally wanted to be a baker, but decided against it and started looking into the medical field instead. She didn’t think she could afford the tuition required to be a cardiothoracic surgeon, she said with a laugh, so she decided being an EMT would be a good fit.

When she was a child, she said she would tell people, “I’m the doctor, I’m the doctor,” and was always trying to help people in need.

To her, having compassion is the most important part of being an EMT.

“Just let [people] know that they’ll be okay,” Smoke said. “If there’s a bump or a cut… let them know they’ll be okay. I want to make sure people are comfortable at all times whether they have a giant hole in their stomach or they’re unconscious.”

Whiteline also has a connection to Day, stating in a Facebook post that her uniform is hanging in the office, along with a picture of her mom who passed not long after her.

Smoke said she looked into EMT training programs around the state, including online programs, and decided on Whiteline because it was the most hands-on training program she could find. In addition to practicing CPR on training dummies, Smoke has been able to work through scenarios with actors.

The $1,000 scholarship completely covered the cost of Smoke’s EMT class aside from the deposit, she said.

After she completes the 12-week course, she plans to stay in the area and get additional endorsements, including her Advanced EMT (AEMT) certification, which will allow her to do things like place IVs and administer certain medications that EMTs can’t. After that, she plans to relocate to be closer to family, she said.