WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – The Watertown Firefighter Recruit Academy is holding a graduation ceremony on Thursday, and one student walking the stage will be making history.<\/p>\n
Olivia Simpson will become Watertown\u2019s first-ever female firefighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts exciting, very nerve-racking, but I\u2019m excited to prove to the guys that I\u2019m able to do the job. I\u2019m held to the same standard as all of the guys. That\u2019s definitely a little bit of a struggle for me, but I was able to push through and just be able to prove myself was the best part,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Simpson has been a volunteer firefighter for about 5 years.<\/p>\n
She says one thing that inspired her to get started was growing up around the station.<\/p>\n
Her father Kevin Simpson was also a firefighter in Watertown.<\/p>\n
Captain Charles Waugh says he thinks Simpson has a bright future ahead of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose basic skills she already had, so we spent 19 weeks just honing in those skills, finding her strengths, building on those, finding the weaknesses, and bringing her up to speed with it. She did very well, and I expect she\u2019ll have a great career from this point forward,\u201d said Waugh.<\/p>\n
As Simpson takes those steps across the graduation stage on Thursday, she hopes they symbolize a step forward not only for the Watertown Fire Department, but for women across the North Country.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that young girls being able to see a girl become a firefighter, chase after her dreams, I hope that inspires them to chase after their dreams too,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Simpson will start her first shift at the department on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n
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