STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:

BIYE BELEW

Q: Tell us about yourself.

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. 

Q: How has Avenue Scholars supported you to pursue a career in the healthcare field?

As I’ve said many times, I would not be the person I am today without the help of the Avenue Scholars. Not only did the program help me find a career that I am passionate about, but they’ve also helped me learn how to be a better person academically and personally. For example, they’ve taught me how to manage my time more efficiently with school, work, and personal time. They also taught me how to complete a professional resume, cover letter, and other things that high school doesn’t teach you. 

With the help of Avenue Scholars, they also helped fund me and allowed me to take the Senior EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) Academy, so I graduated high school with an EMT certification. I believe that healthcare classes, especially nursing and paramedicine, are very rigorous and busy so my coach, Canei Rodriguez, and MCC navigator, Jeff Hall, check up on me regularly to make sure that I am fine mentally and academically. 

I want to give special thanks to Coach Knott, Coach Rodriquez, Ms. Janae, Jeff, and Miss. Tonya for making me an overall better person. 

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