Portage Lakes Career Center alumnus Tasha Murdock (Public Safety Program, Class of 2010) recently received an Academic Achievement Award in the intensive Firefighting I and II classes offered at Stark State College. Jeff Magee, Program Coordinator for the Emergency Services Department at Stark State College, remarks that Tasha “did an excellent job in a very difficult and challenging program.” Tasha attended classes Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm accumulating 270 hours of training to obtain the Firefighting Level II certificate, the highest in the state of Ohio.

Tasha states, “I always knew I wanted to be a firefighter so I went to PLCC to get the training I needed.” Mr. Russell Dean, Public Safety Instructor at PLCC, remembers Tasha well as a student “with a heart of gold who always gave 100 percent.”   Tasha mentions that her education at PLCC gave her a big head start on her career because “PLCC did a lot to help us and I already had many of the certificates I needed in college because we completed them at the career center.”

This fall, Tasha plans on taking paramedic classes at Stark State College so she can fulfill her dream of becoming a firefighter and an emergency medical technician in the Summit, Portage, or Stark county area. As for her Academic Achievement Award, Tasha notes, “I just set a goal and accomplished it.” Way to go Tasha! We are so proud of your success!


Portage Lakes Career Center Alumnus Tasha Murdock
Public Safety Program, Class of 2010