Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Names First Recipients Of New Paramedic Education Scholarship (Photo) - 06/18/26

Kiyah Parker and Nate Pratt are the inaugural winners of a scholarship that covers the full cost of paramedic education at Portland Community College.

Hillsboro Fire & Rescue has announced the first two recipients of its newly established paramedic education scholarship: Kiyah Parker, a graduate of Liberty High School, and Nate Pratt, a graduate of Glencoe High School. The inaugural awards mark a significant milestone for the department's investment in growing local talent for careers in emergency medicine and firefighting.

Both Parker and Pratt completed the Liberty Fire Science Program, a key step toward scholarship eligibility. The award will cover the full cost of their paramedic education program at Portland Community College (PCC), allowing them to pursue an associate's degree and a paramedic license without the burden of tuition.

The scholarship is funded through a partnership between the City of Hillsboro and Hillsboro Fire & Rescue. Two scholarships will be awarded each year to students who attend high school within the Hillsboro School District and complete the Liberty Fire Science Program.

“We’ve been planning this as a department for a long time. Go to PCC, earn an associate’s degree and paramedic license, and ultimately become paramedic firefighters. This is the first of what we hope is a long and successful story we get to tell as we keep the youth in our community working and thriving. We see this as a partnership between the department and the students themselves,” said Fire Chief David Downey.

Parker and Pratt will begin their studies at Portland Community College, working toward associate's degrees and paramedic licenses, and hopefully choosing to serve as paramedic firefighters in Hillsboro. Their achievement lays the foundation for what the department hopes will become a lasting pipeline of homegrown talent that will serve the community for years to come.

About Hillsboro Fire & Rescue

The City of Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Department is a career fire department serving the residents, businesses, and visitors of Hillsboro, Oregon, providing emergency fire suppression, paramedic-level emergency medical services, and life-safety outreach across the city. Firefighter-EMTs and paramedics respond from stations strategically located throughout the City, ensuring rapid response to calls ranging from structure fires to medical emergencies. Beyond emergency response, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue is committed to fire prevention and community risk reduction, offering safety education and outreach programs designed to keep Hillsboro a safe place to live, work, and play. Fire Chief David Downey leads the department, whose mission is to respond to the needs of the community with professionalism and excellence in every aspect of its fire and rescue service delivery system. For more information, visit Hillsboro-Oregon.gov/Fire.

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