A junior at Syracuse University with a major in biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Jared Anderson ‘23 is contributing not only to his local community but those across the country. As he’s working toward his ambitions to pursue medical school, he is also building a platform to save lives. Jared is working hard to succeed in school and make a difference in educating people with knowledge they can use in emergency situations.
Jared is a dedicated student who is passionate about making a difference in the world. He has always been a leader in his community, and one of those leadership roles is being a resident advisor in Shaw Hall for the past two years. One of Jared’s traits is his keen interested in being engage. Immersed in Syracuse campus activities, he is also a member of Engineering World Health Club and Christian Outreach. Jared has also served as an EMT and is an active firefighter/ EMT at DeWitt Fire Department.
Jared comes from a family of ten and knows the importance of taking care of others, especially his family. With his own mission to keep his family safe, he has the same passion to keep others as well. Through his time as a firefighter and taking care of his siblings, he has understood the importance of safety when dangerous situations arise. Jared is the type of person to put others before himself, and it is no surprise he would create a platform to ensure others safety.
Through his many experiences on the job, he has seen community members who are unsure about how to handle emergency situations. Jared was determined to fix that. Civilian Medical Response (CMR) is a non-profit organization that will teach the basics of first response skills and emergency preparedness. The goal is to teach and inform others to ensure their safety at and away from home. Jared states, “Through my experience as a firefighter and EMT, I have seen people struggle in emergency situations from a lack of information and training.”
You might be thinking that some people already go through training for these types of situations, but not enough. Jared is determined to tackle training differently. He has discovered that many people undergo these trainings for work and are less likely to pay attention. Jared has observed that modules aren’t as impactful because individuals rush through it to complete them and don’t retain the information.
The mission of CMR is “to empower individuals to recognize and react to medical emergencies through training and education.” CMR will offer hands-on workshops to churches, schools, work, all free of cost to ensure quality information and training for individuals. Jared wants to build convenience into the program, reaching more community groups and people to accommodate training within their schedule.
With the concept for CMR, Jared joined the LaunchPad to find greater community support to help grow his venture. He said, “Once I had the idea, I knew it would be the best place to pursue my aspirations.”
He competed recently at ‘Cuse Tank and said that pitching his idea was a great experience. He received valuable feedback on how to improve and build his non-profit. After the competition, in recognition of his hard work and good idea, he received a $2,500 LaunchPad Innovation Grant to help incorporate, and to develop his product and curriculum. He is eagerly awaiting his next competition, the Impact Prize, to compete for additional funds and to develop even more personal and professional skills.
His goal is to offer his very first training in the community that supported him – the LaunchPad.
Story by Blackstone Global Fellow Sydney Grosso ‘23