Halfway through winter break, Dearborn High senior Amneh Yaghmour was putting gas in her car at the local station when she heard a loud crash from a car accident. She ran to the crashed vehicle and saw that the driver was unconscious, not even responding when she knocked on his window.
And that’s when her training from the Health Science Program at Michael Berry Career Center kicked in.
Yaghmour opened the vehicle door and checked the man for a pulse. Not finding any, she began to pull him out of the car. By then, Dearborn Police had arrived on the scene and helped her remove the man from the vehicle.
She began CPR compressions and maintained them until paramedics from the Dearborn Fire Department arrived.
The teen admitted it was a frightening situation.
“There was a whole adrenaline rush,” Yaghmour said.
On Thursday, May 25, Dearborn Fire Department presented Yaghmour with an “Outstanding Civilian Award” during the year-end celebration at the Berry Career Center.
Firefighter Justin Dunne credited Yaghmour with saving the driver’s life. CPR was able to restore a regular heartbeat for the man.
Dunne noted that hero is often used to describe someone who is brave, courageous, or someone who makes a positive impact in the community.
“There is a hero among you who embodies all these qualities,” Dunne told the gathered students as he presented the award.
The fire department honor was not the only recognition Yaghmour received. Among the other accolades, she was honored as the only student who earned certification as a pharmacy technician. That certification allows her to have a professional job at a local pharmacy, said Oussama Baydoun, assistant principal at the Dearborn Heights Campus, which includes MBCC.
Dozens of other career and technical students were also honored during the ceremony. (See the slide presentation here.) Thursday was the last day of class for seniors.
Thirty four seniors earned career and technical education cords they will wear at the graduations at their home high schools – Edsel Ford, Fordson or Dearborn High. Michael Berry Career Center is a half day program that allows students to take career related courses, while spending the other half a day at their home high school.
Numerous students from sophomore through seniors earned industry recognized credentials. Below are listed the credential, which program provided the training, and the number of students who earned that credential. Note, the number of industry certifications will likely increase as some juniors take the tests in the last few weeks of school.
Credentials include:
- ServSafe Manager – culinary, four students
- Michigan ProStart – culinary, one student
- Microsoft Office Specialist – business, nine students
- Certified Clinical Medical Assistant CCMA – health, 14 students
- Certified EKG Technician CET – health, seven students
- Certified Pharmacy Technician PTCB – health, one student
- CPR Professional Rescuer – health, five students
- CPR/First Aid – health, 109 students
- CareerSafe OSHA 10 – health, 10 students
- CPR/First Aid – criminal justice, six students
- LAPSEN Law Enforcement Certificate – criminal justice, three students
- ASE Entry Level Certification (offered at Edsel Ford and Fordson high schools) – auto, nine students
- Adobe Certified Expert ACE – digital media, eight students
- Microsoft Office Specialist – digital media and programming, 17 students
- Microsoft Office Expert – digital media, one student
Mr. Beydoun praised all of the students earning awards at Berry Career Center and other CTE programs in the district. He also credited them for learning how to persevere and succeed and reminded them learning how to deal with challenges is what defines them.
“Some of you are going to take this piece of paper and use it to go find jobs in the community and become productive citizens,” Mr. Baydoun said.
See a video of the Fire Department’s presentation to Amneh Yaghmour.