Jeremiah Armstrong
Jeremiah Armstrong
Jeremiah Armstrong is one of our newest recipients. He graduated from Platte Canyon High School in May 2023 and is ready to embark on his college journey. In the following (fictitious) account, Jeremiah explains his career goals:
“High pitched sirens intensify as they speed toward the drop-off zone of the Emergency Room. The EMTs and paramedics deliver the blood-soaked patient who had been impaled through the heart with a long piece of rusty rebar. Somebody needs to help; the patient may only have minutes to live. The medical team flies through the hospital in order to reach the operating room. In situations like this, it becomes unclear when the heart could stop beating; however, a solution exists. An essential piece of medical equipment, the bypass machine can circumvent the heart to keep the patient alive. A trained professional must operate this technical equipment; such a person is a perfusionist.”
Jeremiah is attending the University of Northern Colorado to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing and then continue his education and receive a master’s degree in Cardiovascular Sciences so he can become a perfusionist. He would like to, “do something challenging and more importantly, something that will positively affect the lives of others,” through working in research or working at a Children’s Hospital helping children with birth defects.
Jeremiah was born in Lawrence, Kansas, and was raised in Bailey, Colorado. During his time at Platte Canyon High School, he was involved in theatre production, learned about lighting, met a lot of people, and made great friends. He also planned and executed an interesting science project with trout. He started with trout eggs, hatched them, raised them, and when they were ready, he released them into the South Platte River. Jeremiah refers to this trout project as one of the highlights of his senior year because he enjoyed the hands-on work, meeting the challenges involved (setting up the fish tank correctly), watching the fish grown, and releasing the fish when they were about 3-4 inches. The project was rewarding for Jeremiah and provided many fun opportunities.
One of his greatest high school experiences helped him focus on the perfusionist profession. Abby Theobald, the Post-Graduate Counselor at Platte Canyon, introduced Jeremiah to one of her friends who is a perfusionist. Jeremiah soaked up his recommendations and put his education plan in place. He also received “the offer of a lifetime” and was able to witness an open-heart surgery. He met the perfusion team at the Anschutz Medical Campus and was able to observe the perfusionist’s role during surgery. He can’t wait to learn every detail about the profession and how the perfusionist fits into the medical and surgical worlds.
Jeremiah will live in the biology dorm at UNC his freshmen year. Jeremiah has an older sister who attends CSU Pueblo who has offered great advice to him including class selections and what items to take to the dorm. He feels he has a great resource in her, as well as other fantastic advisors, including Bootstraps. With the support he has and the determination he possesses, his transition to college will go smoothly. Before he commits to extracurricular activities at UNC, he wants to learn the ropes and get to know his new environment. A few of the activities he is interested in pursuing are science-related research, rock climbing, and possibly theatre.
Jeremiah received the Benson Family Scholarship, and it has helped him significantly with his tuition. He is very grateful for the opportunity Bootstraps has helped provide for him. He wouldn’t have the same comfort level he has without Bootstraps, and the scholarship has provided security for him. He will miss his Bailey community, his friends, and the overall beautiful environment, but he is ready and excited for his educational journey to begin. Jeremiah has a positive, motivated, kind, and determined spirit, and it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know him. Jeremiah is going to soar!
“High pitched sirens intensify as they speed toward the drop-off zone of the Emergency Room. The EMTs and paramedics deliver the blood-soaked patient who had been impaled through the heart with a long piece of rusty rebar. Somebody needs to help; the patient may only have minutes to live. The medical team flies through the hospital in order to reach the operating room. In situations like this, it becomes unclear when the heart could stop beating; however, a solution exists. An essential piece of medical equipment, the bypass machine can circumvent the heart to keep the patient alive. A trained professional must operate this technical equipment; such a person is a perfusionist.”
Jeremiah is attending the University of Northern Colorado to obtain a bachelor’s degree in nursing and then continue his education and receive a master’s degree in Cardiovascular Sciences so he can become a perfusionist. He would like to, “do something challenging and more importantly, something that will positively affect the lives of others,” through working in research or working at a Children’s Hospital helping children with birth defects.
Jeremiah was born in Lawrence, Kansas, and was raised in Bailey, Colorado. During his time at Platte Canyon High School, he was involved in theatre production, learned about lighting, met a lot of people, and made great friends. He also planned and executed an interesting science project with trout. He started with trout eggs, hatched them, raised them, and when they were ready, he released them into the South Platte River. Jeremiah refers to this trout project as one of the highlights of his senior year because he enjoyed the hands-on work, meeting the challenges involved (setting up the fish tank correctly), watching the fish grown, and releasing the fish when they were about 3-4 inches. The project was rewarding for Jeremiah and provided many fun opportunities.
One of his greatest high school experiences helped him focus on the perfusionist profession. Abby Theobald, the Post-Graduate Counselor at Platte Canyon, introduced Jeremiah to one of her friends who is a perfusionist. Jeremiah soaked up his recommendations and put his education plan in place. He also received “the offer of a lifetime” and was able to witness an open-heart surgery. He met the perfusion team at the Anschutz Medical Campus and was able to observe the perfusionist’s role during surgery. He can’t wait to learn every detail about the profession and how the perfusionist fits into the medical and surgical worlds.
Jeremiah will live in the biology dorm at UNC his freshmen year. Jeremiah has an older sister who attends CSU Pueblo who has offered great advice to him including class selections and what items to take to the dorm. He feels he has a great resource in her, as well as other fantastic advisors, including Bootstraps. With the support he has and the determination he possesses, his transition to college will go smoothly. Before he commits to extracurricular activities at UNC, he wants to learn the ropes and get to know his new environment. A few of the activities he is interested in pursuing are science-related research, rock climbing, and possibly theatre.
Jeremiah received the Benson Family Scholarship, and it has helped him significantly with his tuition. He is very grateful for the opportunity Bootstraps has helped provide for him. He wouldn’t have the same comfort level he has without Bootstraps, and the scholarship has provided security for him. He will miss his Bailey community, his friends, and the overall beautiful environment, but he is ready and excited for his educational journey to begin. Jeremiah has a positive, motivated, kind, and determined spirit, and it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know him. Jeremiah is going to soar!
