On Saturday, March 9, the Graduate Education in Medical Sciences Club (GEMS) held its annual Save A Life Day. This event was started a few years ago as a way to certify as many people as possible in CPR, First Aid and AED training. The certification is done through the American Red Cross.

There are so many times in life where there has been a situation or an accident and there is nobody certified that could help. By going through the training and becoming certified, a person is able to be of assistance until medical professionals arrive. Often times, this is exactly what is needed to save a persons life.

There is an urgency for this day to be held, not only for Colorado Mesa University (CMU) students but for the community as well. GEMS strives to educate as many people on this subject as possible so that if or when an emergency occurs they will be confident in themselves and with what they have learned to be able to help. Those who were doing the instruction of the training are already certified CMU students.

GEMS held two sessions in child, infant, and adult certifications. The certifications were offered at a discounted rate. They also had seats that were sponsored from donations from local businesses in the community. The donations were raised by the Save A Life Day committee. Their efforts resulted in 30 of the 40 attendees being certified through those donated seats.

“The GEMS club annual Save a Life Day was a total success! I have been working very hard on this event for the past 5 months, to see it finally all come together is a great feeling! I love everything this event stands for and all of the new people I have gotten to meet along the way! A huge shout out to the participants, instructors, sponsors, and most importantly my fellow officer team for helping out! I cannot wait to see what we can do for the next years Save a Life Day!,” Bryce Hopwood, GEMS club treasurer said.