Harper students honored for emergency response

The Harper College Police Department recently honored a group of Harper students with the first-ever Citizen’s Letter of Appreciation because of their immediate action in an emergency situation.

Harper students Samantha Carlson, Liam Carmody, Michael Cullotta, Lauren Glave, Talia Kotel, Joshua Lawson, Lucas Miezal, Aneesh Navalpakkam, David Ogilvie, Connor Patti, Rachel Spadafore and Joey Zucker were nominated by Harper Police Officer Douglas Rashkow after their quick response when an instructor collapsed in class. The students are enrolled in Harper’s Career Skills Institute (CSI), which is a program for young adults with mild intellectual disabilities who can gain academic and employability skills tailored to their needs.

These CSI classmates remained calm during the emergency and worked together to find Harper police officers, call 911 and monitor their instructor until paramedics arrived on the scene.

“The Harper College Police Department was honored to present our first Citizen’s Letter of Appreciation to these students,” said Harper Police Chief John Lawson, who presided over the recognition ceremony. “Their quick action ensured that their instructor received timely medical attention.”