Five Quad, CPR Training and Work at Area Hospital Lay Foundation for a Career in Medicine 

SUNY Chancellor's Award Student Profile: Samantha Hutchins 

Chancellor's Award recipient Samantha Hutchins volunteers with the student-run Five Quad ambulance service. (Photo by Carlo de Jesus)

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 5, 2016) – Senior Samantha Hutchins, a native of Salem, N.H., and a human biology major, is a giver and a doer. She teaches CPR and First Aid classes on campus, she responds to emergency calls as a volunteer for Five Quad ambulance service, and when she graduates next month, she will have finished school in three years.

Hutchins is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence and maintains a 3.95 GPA. She has also been the recipient of a Chi Sigma Theta Scholarship, through The University at Albany Foundation.

The Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by the University. Nominations are sought for students who have best demonstrated and been recognized for their integration of academic excellence with other aspects of their lives, including leadership, campus involvement, community service, athletics or career achievement. Hutchins will be honored at a recognition ceremony on today at 2 p.m.

“The greatest opportunity I had at UAlbany that would have been difficult to find elsewhere has been my participation in Five Quad,” she said. “Five Quad has prepared me well for my job at Albany Medical Center and makes me feel confident in my future as a physician’s assistant.” Hutchins is a patient care assistant at Albany Medical Center, where she assists post-surgery patients with daily living activities, checks vital signs, and assists the nursing staff.

She joined Five Quad because she knew a few people in the organization, and she found it to be structured similarly to the Air Force Junior ROTC program in which she participated in high school.

“I really appreciated that Five Quad was student-run,” said Hutchins. “The volunteer ambulance organization was a great way for me to get hands-on experience and explore my interest in medicine.”

As Community Training Officer for Five Quad, Hutchins teaches about eight CPR/AED or First Aid courses per semester that are offered free to UAlbany students and staff. She also teaches Hands-Only CPR, which she believes is growing in popularity.

“It is such a great skill to know CPR and even first aid because they could be needed in any moment of your life,” said Hutchins. “The greatest part about the courses is that they not only provide you with the skills, but they also instill a sense of confidence in the learners that they are able to make an impact and help out in a difficult situation.”

The University has been deemed a HEARTSafe Campus by the National Collegiate EMS Foundation for its high percentage of collegiate community members trained in CPR.

After graduation, Hutchins plans to attend physician assistant school.

“I intend to pursue a career initially in research and hospital-based work and eventually transition into a family practice for a long-term career.”

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