My name is Biye Belew and I am a paramedic student at Metropolitan Community College, with the goal of becoming a paramedic firefighter. Some hobbies that I love to do are working out, spending time with family and friends, and going out in nature. Before joining Avenue Scholars in high school, I was a sophomore who had no idea what he wanted to do after school. Although people considered me book smart in high school, I had no passion for school so I knew I was not going to attend a university. My older brother, a junior during that time, was an Avenue Scholar and introduced me to Coach Knott. I had no idea what Avenue Scholars was about but I knew that my brother loved it so I joined. 

Junior year was when Avenue Scholars helped students partake in job shadows. I was the type of little brother who copied their older brother with everything, so when my older brother wanted to work in the IT field, that’s what I thought I wanted. As I went on more job shadows still struggling to find what I wanted to do, Coach Knott proposed that I get a job shadow at the Omaha Fire Department, and I surprisingly loved it. After a couple of weeks of researching the life of a firefighter, I knew that was what I wanted to do as my career. I told Coach Knott and she introduced me to her husband, Jeremy Knott. He came to the school and answered all of my unanswered questions. Then I got an internship at Omaha Fire during the summer of 2019 thanks to Coach Knott and Mr. Knott and I loved it.