For an aspiring paramedic, it is especially devastating to hear about the destruction of so many lives in the Caribbean and Southern United States due to the trifecta of hurricanes that recently swept the region. As a part of the Young Explorer program with local fire departments, Lorenzo Esquivel ’18 has been helping to raise money for the relief efforts through charity events and raffles.

“I believe that all people that work for fire departments should make sure that other people are safe, but also that we are improving their lives,” Esquivel said. “We want to be there to help make them feel better and help them get through life, and not just through emergency services. We should just be there for people.”

Esquivel joined the Young Explorers program at the end of the school year last year, he said. In the program, Esquivel trains with adult firefighters from the Broadview, Country Club Hills and Melrose Park on live calls where their services are needed. He can respond to those calls at any time, even getting out of class at school and out of bed at 3 a.m.

“We had a child who had respiratory failure, and we got that call at 3 in the morning,” Esquivel said. “We have to be on call 24/seven.”

In addition to providing emergency services, Esquivel also gets the opportunity to participate in community outreach, he said. The most recent example of which was the $1,500 that he and the fire department raised for hurricane relief during their open house on Sept. 27^th. They set up booths, sold food and T-shirts and offered direct donations to the fire department’s hurricane relief fund.

Esquivel also educates the community about fire safety and awareness, going to local schools to teach children important information about avoiding fires at home and what to do in the event of a fire, he said.

“I think that the efforts stand true whenever we make someone’s life better, just by simply talking to them,” Esquivel said. “You don’t even have to be on duty to help someone out who’s in need, just by stopping and talking to someone, you can make a big difference. I really think that these efforts are really big game-changers in a person’s daily life.”

In addition to Esquivel, other LT students participate in the Young Explorers program. Chris Senecca ’18 works very closely with Esquivel, and participates in many of the same training exercises and charity events, he said.

“Lorenzo has a ‘go-getter’ attitude, and when I ask him to do something, he gets it done, and he gets it done right,” Senecca said. “We had a drill recently, and the first time he tried it, he got it done right. It’s really impressive.”

The fire department will continue its charity work, with a new raffle beginning in early November and ending the week before Christmas, Esquivel said. Raffle tickets will be sold at school, and the firehouse in Broadview is always open for donations.

“Just by learning how to put yourself in others’ shoes and realize that others might be going through stressful situations or hurting and be there for them, you can make a difference in their lives,” Esquivel said.