From Goal Stopper to Fire Stopper

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Kaylee Kolin


NEWBERG, Ore. – Failure has never been an option for recent graduate Kaylee Kolin, who spent the last two years solidifying her name in the George Fox women’s lacrosse record book.

Since the start of the program in 2013-14, Kolin never missed a game in the net for the Bruins. She walks away from the program with 19 records, three Northwest Conference Women’s Lacrosse Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week awards and an All-NWC First-Team selection. Kaylee was a goal stopper for the Bruins, recording save after save and frustrating opponents’ offenses. She ended her career with 262 saves and a winning percentage of .630.

Although she was a force to reckoned with on the playing field, Kaylee had a bigger goal in mind, one that was a passion for many years.

Her journey started in the fall of 2014, when she took off a semester at George Fox to pursue her dream of becoming a firefighter. She enrolled at Portland Community College and started taking classes in the accelerated EMT program. She completed the program in December upon passing the Oregon Practical Exam. Four days later, she took the Portland Fire written exam but had to wait until January to find out the results. Kaylee returned to George Fox to finish her historic senior season, but never lost sight of her dream of becoming a firefighter.

In mid-January, Portland Fire and Rescue contacted Kaylee with news she passed the written exam. Her next step was the chief’s interview in late March, which she passed as well. The motivation behind her dream pushed her to succeed on the field, leading the Bruins to a program-best 11-5 overall record. After the season concluded, she took the National Registry EMT test and, upon passing it, qualified to move forward in the Portland Fire and Rescue testing process.

Not even an hour after she walked across the stage to accept her diploma at George Fox, Kaylee received an email with a conditional offer of employment stating that she had been chosen as one of 12 individuals to take the Physical Agility Test. After she passed the physical agility test she then took the Medical Exam. It wasn’t until the second week of June that she received her official offer of employment, which stated that she started on July 16 at Station 2 on 122nd in Portland. The first six months will be a Monday-through-Thursday, 7-to-5 job, and then switch to three months on the engine rotation, followed by another three months of truck rotations.

The road to her dream has been a successful one, but that wouldn’t be the case without her hard work and the people who helped her through this process.

“My dad has been the biggest inspiration, supporter and role model since day one,” says Kolin. “He has taught me so many important lessons and has instilled many morals and qualities within me that have led to my success thus far in life. My grandpa always told my dad to be the hardest worker in the room no matter what, and I have taken that to heart regardless if that is on the field or in my job. All in all, I believe it is because of my dad that I was able to reach my goal and achieve my dream job.”

“Another individual who helped me in my journey throughout George Fox was Craig Taylor,” remarked Kolin. “Since the day I met him when I was being carted off the soccer field with a blown-out knee, Craig has supported me and helped me with many things. He would take time to meet with me at school and talk about soccer, lacrosse, family, school and my career. Craig helped me start networking, introducing me to former George Fox athletes who were also firefighters, which was instrumental for me to get the foot in the door with Portland Fire.”

On her George Fox experience, Kaylee said, “Playing lacrosse at George Fox was, by far, the most memorable aspect of my journey through school. Being on the very first team at George Fox was such an honor, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of young women to play with. It is a special feeling knowing I was a part of the first senior class to come out of that program. There is just something about being part of a team that is so special to experience, and I think that has a lot to do with me wanting to be a firefighter.”

Although Kaylee won’t play at Austin Sports Complex again, her leadership and presence will always be felt. On the side from her training with Portland Fire, she coaches high school summer lacrosse for Lacrosse Northwest. In addition, she is a personal trainer and ambassador for an up-and-coming enterprise called Iron Strong – a brand working to empower men, women and children in the community to improve their health and live out the phrase “Iron Strong”.

The road to success is a daunting one for Kaylee – any missteps in training could result in termination on the spot – but one thing is certain: She will put her heart and soul into doing the best job she can do.