Nicole is a 40-year-old New Orleans native who moved to Baton Rouge by way of Houston, TX after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She has been a paramedic for 11 years, but paramedicine was not her original career goal; becoming a doctor or veterinarian were her initial aspirations. After college, Nicole worked in a lab for an environmental service for about 4 years. During this time, she was also working towards applying to vet school, until Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. While sheltering from Hurricane Rita, her mother saw an ad in the local paper for the East Baton Rouge EMS Paramedic Academy. Nicole applied, and the rest is history. She enjoys being a paramedic because she gets to help people of all walks of life mostly at a low point in their day. She also gets the opportunity to try to turn that low point around by helping someone breath better, giving them comfort when they are in pain, or just making them smile. In her down time, she enjoys riding her bicycle, participating in and watching sports, relaxing with her cat Milo, listening to music, especially jazz, and hanging with family and friends. Currently she serves on three teams at EBR-EMS. She is a member of the Special Response Team (SRT), Bike Team, and the Honor Guard. She was also voted Paramedic of the Year in 2011. Nicole still has hopes to one day expand on her career and become a vet or a physician’s assistant.