Vikram Dalmiya doesn’t do typical afternoon activities at Williston; instead, he has a job helping people and saving lives.

Vikram, a senior from Ridgewood, New Jersey, has been actively involved in the community in his four years here, participating in wrestling, swimming, cross country, lacrosse, athletic performance, and managing  Girls Varsity Lacrosse. However, Vik’s true passions are wrestling and being an EMT at the Easthampton Fire Department.

Vik first wrestled during his freshman year at Williston, and fell in love with it as soon as he started.

“Out of all the sports I like wrestling the best because of what it taught me,” Vik said. “It taught me resilience and willpower, and that you have to find the power from within. A big part of wrestling is being broken down and being built back up.”

Unfortunately, Vik has suffered from injuries that cut his wrestling career short. He was diagnosed with high blood pressure and hypertension, rendering him unable to wrestle.

“Being told I had to quit was a big deal,” he explained. “Sophomore year I hyperextended and herniated a disk in my back, and I was out for a year-and-a-half. I did JV swimming to help with physical therapy.”

Although Vik could not pursue one of his passions anymore, he  shifted his focus to his job at the Easthampton Fire Department as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), and his summer jobs at the Ridgewood Police Department and New York State DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation).

Senior Bryan Soder is impressed by Vikram’s work ethic. “I’ve known Vik for four years and I’ve seen his passion for the fire department,” Bryan said. “I think this passion translates to his hard work ethic across the board.”

Instead of playing a sport, Vik’s job at the Easthampton Fire Department as an EMT counts as his after school activity. His job consists of helping with the in house duties, such as cleaning and servicing equipment. He also responds to police and fire  calls to get experience in the field.

“I really like [my job] because it keeps my skills growing and I’m learning new things,” Vik said. “It gives me a different perspective on life because you see people at their lowest and you see people exposed to how brutal life choices can be. It makes you feel fortunate for what you have and lucky to have support structures around you.”

Over the summer at home, Vik works at the Ridgewood Police Department, Ridgewood EMS, and the New York State DEC.

Vik describes his job in the New York State DEC as “providing basic life care and search-and-rescue resources to the high peaks in the Adirondacks.”

Over this past summer, Vik got his scariest call on the job. One of his good friends had fallen over 100 feet, and was dangling from a ledge.

“I had to perform a technical rescue and climb 300 feet to the ledge where he was dangling on,” Vik explained. “After securing him to a mobile stretcher, we had to lower him down the rockface to a clearing where we were flown via helicopter to the local hospital where he was released a few days later after suffering brain damage and a cracked skull.”

Vik plans to study pre-med, biomedical engineering, or public health in college, which hopefully will enable him to give back to those in need. In the future, Vik wants to start his own global medical support group.