By Courtney Mabeus
The Frederick News-Post, Md.
When an internship coordinator at Tuscarora High School suggested Samantha Maguire try volunteering at Independent Hose Co. to learn about emergency medicine, JoAnn Maguire decided to join her daughter.
The mother and daughter team finished coursework required to volunteer as emergency medical technicians in May and are now on their way to building up the hours necessary to become full-fledged aides.
JoAnn Maguire, 41, a property manager who also owns Sisters Bake Shop on West Patrick Street, said working in the medical field was something she had always wanted to try. Her daughter gave her the added nudge.
“I can save a life,” JoAnn Maguire said in a recent interview at the fire station.
Samantha Maguire is starting at St. Mary’s College of Maryland as a freshman majoring in biology. She said she has wanted to become a doctor since she was 10 years old.
“I’ve just always had that goal in mind, and I think that will help me a lot in school, having that goal,” said Samantha, 18.
She was initially interested in plastic surgery but has changed her goal to become a trauma surgeon, in part because she has seen what it’s like on the front lines volunteering with the fire and rescue company.
When her mother signed up for training with her, Samantha said she was a little surprised, not because of her mother’s interest, but because she is already so busy.
“I think she really just wanted to be there for support,” she said. “I think she really loves it.”
The mother-daughter duo spent months attending classes and studying together.
“We studied long, hard hours, and we did extremely well in the program,” JoAnn Maguire said.
Independent Hose Co. has become a second family to the Maguire women, each said.
“We’re known as the ‘Cupcake Girls,'” JoAnn Maguire said. That’s because she sometimes brings baked goods to the station when she volunteers.
Independent Hose Volunteer Chief Rodney Masser said the Maguires’ commitment and personalities have been assets to the company.
This is the first time he’s seen a mother-daughter volunteer team, he said.
“They’re top percent,” Masser said. “They definitely have the drive and the ambition to succeed.
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After their months training together, college has created a physical separation. Samantha started a scholar’s program at St. Mary’s College this month before the fall semester begins.
But mother and daughter’s paths may not diverge too much when it comes to volunteering. Samantha said she is looking at volunteering with a local station near her college and will continue at Independent Hose when she comes home on breaks.
JoAnn Maguire plans to continue her volunteering there as well, she said.
“It’s my goal to begin paramedic training in the spring of next year.”
