JA 18 Under 18
KASEY TARBURTON
While Kasey is described as “quiet,” she speaks not with words but with her actions. Currently in eighth grade, Kasey sees a need and fills it with determined commitment. In particular, she gives hours of her time to the White Marsh Volunteer Fire Department, where she is a member of the auxiliary. At just 13 years old, Kasey already knows her way around a fire truck and an ambulance, as well as how to approach mass casualty and search and rescue situations, among other skills. She aspires to be a cadet when she is old enough. Kasey excels in school despite a learning difference, though that has never defined her as a student. On the contrary, she’s an advocate for herself and others and the power of education to help her achieve a position where she can help her community. In fact, she has applied to a magnet program in allied health through Baltimore County Public Schools to help her toward a career as a paramedic.
“Kasey has stated many times that she wants to help make her community safe. Most 13-year-olds would finish that with, ‘When I grow up.’ Not Kasey.” —Rachel Gauthier, nominator