Jade Bartz ’28 on Lessons Learned from Fighting Fires

"They all taught me the importance of passion in whatever career you pursue," she said. "My main mentor is super passionate about fire ecology and loved to point out fire scars and lightning scars."

Bartz says she embraced her role as student and was never afraid to ask her supervisors questions about why or how they were doing things.

"In my day-to-day life, I wouldn't typically approach the people I was working with, but in this situation, where you're relying on them for safety," normal barriers tend to drop away, she said. "I think that immediately brings you closer to people who you wouldn't immediately think you'd be close to."

Despite the camaraderie of the group, Bartz said it was a chronically challenging job. "You're just constantly on your feet," she said. And "mentally, you have to be prepared to do a complete 180."

But the group dynamic helped bolster her resilience. "People cheer each other on, even when you're all struggling. It's kind of similar to a sports team, where you're all working for a common goal."

She also noted that she learned the importance of thinking individually but not selfishly. "I realized my own health and well-being could affect the group. A level of collaboration and vulnerability was part of working in this group of firefighters."

As a prospective earth and oceanographic studies and psychology double major, she found that discerning people's psychology was integral to success in this high-stress environment.

"It was a big group, and I realized it's always good to be aware of who you're with, and know the general emotion when you're in an intense situation," she said. "Being able to read things and pick up the little things is really important."

Bartz emphasized how grateful she was for this experience. "The line between danger and beauty is really fascinating to me," she said. "It was cool to work with something that is seen as dangerous and appears intimidating. But it's also amazing to see Mother Nature doing its thing."