Former wildland resources, forestry student helps fight local fire
It was the beginning of September 2022, and Southern California was in the middle of the hottest, longest heat wave of the year. Joel Costello, a fire suppression aid with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, had just wrapped up an exhausting day as part of a handcrew on the Azusa Canyon Gulch Fire. Before he could rest, however, he had one more thing he had to do.
Email his former Citrus College instructor, Robert "Bobby" Goodman.
"I was just on the Gulch Fire up in Azusa Canyon and remembered when you took us up there and showed us the burn scar from a previous fire," Joel wrote. "Thank you so much for your amazing and entertaining teaching. You sparked my interest in wildland firefighting and now I am beginning my career."
A dual enrollment student, Joel took college classes during his junior and senior years of high school. He later went on to earn his emergency medical certification and attend the Los Angeles County Fire Suppression Aid Academy.
"Dual enrollment gave me the ability to study subjects I had specific interest in," Joel said. "Bobby was definitely one of my favorite professors. One practical way his class impacted my success was on my first day at the academy, we were tested on knowing our 10 standard fire orders and 18 watch outs and, because we learned these in Bobby's class, I was a step ahead of the others."
Mr. Goodman says that Joel's story is "what teaching is all about."
"Seeing my students get the jobs of their dreams and being successful at them definitely puts a smile on my face," he said.
This article originally appeared in the November 2022 edition of the Citrus View.