Instructor Spotlight: Shawn Davidson

What classes do you teach at MFRI?

EMT, EMT Skills, EMT Refresher and EMS Officer.

What inspired you to be an instructor?

My background is in elementary school special education and early childhood education. At the same time, I literally grew up around EMS – my dad, Kim Davidson (also a MFRI instructor) is the longest serving member in the history of Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad with 44 years this year. I joined the same department in 1989 and just celebrated my 30th anniversary in volunteer service in St. Mary’s County. Teaching for MFRI allowed me to combine the two things I am most passionate about: education and EMS.

What do you love about being an instructor?

MFRI can be challenging – but also supremely rewarding What I do every day, from the curriculum development I work on to every class I ever teach, I touch the lives of countless people who visit, live, and work in Maryland. I positively impact the world by providing quality training that gets people the help they need when they call 911. That makes every other factor meaningless by comparison.

Most memorable teaching moment.

It’s impossible to narrow my experiences down to a single “most memorable” moment. What I can tell you I love is watching the “ah hah!” moment, when a student who has struggled with a concept or skill feels the click that signifies the beginning of understanding. That moment is an awesome one to witness and even more fun to be a part of.

Best advice to a student taking courses at MFRI.

Honestly the best advice, I think, is to learn yourself before you try to learn other things. Self-awareness matters. To be successful, not just as a student but in everything, a person must know what their strengths and weaknesses are and act accordingly. Experience has taught me that when a person is willing to work for their goal they are much more likely to achieve it.

I know that sounds trite, but it’s true. Knowing yourself, the raw material you are working with, makes it much easier to meet your goal. Each of us finds self-awareness in a different way and it certainly never happens overnight. Learning to know and appreciate yourself is an ongoing process, assuming you do it right. The day you think you know everything is the day you should give up everything because you have no more room left to grow.

Fun fact about you not related to teaching.

My husband and I work with the Dachshund Rescue of North America. We have six miniature dachshunds of our own. The head of the rescue has teased me about being her “fat farm” because I take in overweight dogs and help them lose a few pounds. Currently at our home we have the six dogs, three cats, twelve koi and a Juliana pig. We volunteer at the local community theater and have three sons, all of whom are grown.