First Aid Training Comes to the Rescue
Alayna Kreilis, an Exercise Science student at County College of Morris, holding her daughter Remi.
An Exercise Science student at County College of Morris (CCM), Alayna Kreilis, of Millington, recently put the first aid training she learned in class to good use when she was driving and noticed a woman on the ground who had been out bike riding with her husband.
“I pulled over and asked if she was ok,” recalls Kreilis. “Her arm was clearly broken and I splinted her arm, taped it and gave her an ice pack.”
Occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic, other people kept driving by the scene. Kreilis, however, donned a mask and gloves and got out of her car because she was confident she could help.
Kreilis, 26, was able to help because she always keeps in her car the first aid kit that Professor William McHugh, from the Department of Health and Exercise Science, had his students put together. Along with developing the kit, Kreilis learned in his First Aid and Emergency Care class how to assist people in emergencies. “I definitely felt prepared,” she says.
“The first aid kit Professor McHugh had us develop is packed with more essentials than any other standard first aid kit I have ever seen,” notes Kreilis.
Kreilis initially began her college studies at Monmouth University but left in 2014. When she decided to go back to college, she chose CCM because of the warm reception she received when she visited the college.
“When I went to visit the school as an option, I felt extremely welcomed and everyone I spoke to in the Admissions office was incredibly helpful and understanding,” she says. “I was nervous about going back to school with a young daughter, but everyone who helped me that day took the weight off my shoulders and made me excited.”
Kreilis is a single mother of a 3-year-old girl Remi. After she enrolled at CCM and came back to register for classes, the professors she worked with helped her to build a schedule so she could take her classes while her daughter was in school.
“It was just an overall welcoming and incredible experience,” says Kreilis.
When she finishes her studies at CCM, she plans to attend Rutgers with the goal of becoming an athletic trainer for a collegiate or professional sports team.
