The most terrifying moment of Juan Salinas’ life—and one that would later lead him to CU Denver—happened when he was about two years old. He and his parents had gone for a hike in rural Mexico, where they were visiting family. He’d lost consciousness after struggling to breathe. When he came to, he was in a hospital. A doctor was explaining that one of his lungs had collapsed, and there was nothing they could do for him. “Nothing is scarier than being in an emergency,” Salinas said.

Then, as if by divine intervention, a Flight for Life pilot overheard the conversation and offered to fly Salinas back to Denver to get the care he needed—saving his life. The calm and confidence of that pilot is what carried Salinas and his family through that terrifying day. “The entire time he did nothing but reassure me, comforted my parents, explained anything and everything that he was doing,” Salinas said.

Now, Salinas spends every working day helping others be better prepared to handle emergencies with more confidence and knowledge of what to do than he’d had that day. And he’s got the skills to do it thanks to his master’s in criminal justice from CU Denver. Salinas is the Safe Schools program manager of the Katy Independent School District, one of the largest school districts in Texas. “A lot of the big steps that I’ve taken are credited very heavily to CU Denver, and everything that I’ve learned on campus and online,” Salinas said.

Read the full story from CU Denver News.