By her own account, Denae Taylor was a “pretty good student,” a modest statement for someone normally on the High Honor Roll, always excited to learn, who found school to be easy because she was a fast learner. Yet, while attending Bellefonte Area High School Denae was not certain about a future involving post-secondary education, ultimately choosing CPI because she felt it would give her the necessary skills to obtain a job after high school.
She was in the Protective Services program for two years, earning acceptance into the National Technical Honor Society. However, once her new instructor Cheniene Leiter assumed leadership of the program, it evolved into an Emergency Services program geared for various first-responder careers. Denae said the change made an impact on her stating, “I just loved to go to CPI because she (Leiter) loves to see success in her students and is dedicated to helping them reach their goals.” Taylor knew upon graduating she wanted to work for an ambulance company and registered for the National Registry
Emergency Medical Technician Exam. She believes Mrs. Leiter’s help properly prepared her as she passed the exam earning an EMT certification, becoming the first high school student to successfully complete CPI’s newly accredited EMT training program. Denae believes the possibilities at CPI lead students to find focus because it offers a way to obtain technical education with specific skills that other schools cannot offer.
Today, Denae is a full-time EMT at Fame Emergency Medical Services, Inc. in Mifflin County, where she is part of a 90-person station operating around the clock with five advanced life support ambulances, a basic life support ambulance, two non-emergency transport vans, and a special operations rehab unit.