Alumni Spotlight Erik Muhlenhaupt

’03

When Erik Muhlenhaupt ’03 sat down for this interview, he was in the midst of teaching rope technician school to the Technical Rescue Operations Team in Fairfax County, Virginia, seen most recently in the news for their work as Virginia Task Force 1 in Turkey earlier this year, following the earthquake. As one facet of his career, he trains new members for technical rescue teams, ensuring that these professionals are equipped to help and best serve others during rescue missions. In addition to serving as an educator, Erik is a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Fairfax (VA) Fire Department, and he is the founder and lead instructor of his company, High Stakes Rescue. His career is the embodiment of Cornelia Connelly’s motto, “Actions, Not Words,” and he shared how his path was guided by the lessons and values learned at Holy Child School at Rosemont.

Erik Muhlenhaupt ’03 has an impressive career history that was in part sparked by his decision to join his hometown’s volunteer fire company when he was in eighth grade at Holy Child School at Rosemont. As part of the junior firefighter program, Erik rode firetrucks to calls and began to observe how the professionals handled emergency situations and, more importantly, helped others. “Communities view the fire department as a resource that they can call when they have a problem. We see everything from benign problems to people experiencing medical emergencies to building fires. In technical rescue, we are tasked with helping people in whatever possible entrapment they are in from car wreckage to building collapses,” Erik shares. A Holy Child student from Kindergarten through Grade 8, Erik feels strongly that the values taught at Holy Child have stuck with him throughout his life. “Holy Child taught us from a young age the meaning of service and how to give back to others because you have the capabilities, talents, or means. The teachers impart these values to children, helping them understand these values in the context of daily life, because it is ultimately our responsibility to give back to others.”

Reflecting on his time at Holy Child, the biggest things that stand out in Erik’s memories of our school are the teachers and the relationships he had with them. Two Middle School teachers in particular stood out in his memory, Steve Clarke and Dan Algeo. “I still have memories of the lessons they taught us, especially the life lessons unrelated to what we were learning in the classroom. They had a holistic approach to teaching us things we needed to know as we were growing into our own; they taught the whole person, not just the standard subject areas.” Erik sees the small size of our school community as a strength and opportunity to make a huge impact on the students, sharing, “It’s the teachers and the attitude of selflessness that pervades the education offered at Holy Child. Beyond being a Catholic school, Holy Child shapes its students foundationally, making them into good people.”

These foundational teachings of service and selflessness are a common thread through Erik’s career as he serves others in his community as a firefighter, paramedic, and instructor through High Stakes Rescue. However, he admits that developing himself as a leader took time, experience, and perspective. “When I first