Straight Out of Hollywood: Student Takes Part in High-Stakes Rescue
Calyn Clements '26, a biochemistry & molecular biology major, was part of a dramatic rescue effort during last week's snowstorm. Photo by Dan Loh.
Snowy roadside rescue spotlights student community impact, new EMT program
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
A Dickinson student made news headlines recently after she took part in a dramatic rescue mission. Calyn Clements ’26 was part of an emergency-response team that assisted with a roadside delivery and transported the stranded mother and her newborn to the hospital—all while a recent major snowstorm blanketed the East Coast.
“Yeah, it was crazy,” Clements later shared with a reporter for WHTM-TV.
On the scene
Clements answered the call on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 26. A woman had gone into labor in the midst of a multiday storm, which would deposit seven inches of snow in Carlisle. The expectant mother was stranded in a tractor trailer, by the side of a rural road outside Carlisle, Pa.
Firefighters and Cumberland County emergency medical services (EMS) pros arrived on the scene to help deliver the baby. Clements, a biochemistry & molecular biology major and student-athlete who’d earned her EMT certification, was the ambulance driver for Cumberland Goodwill EMS.
It was a high-risk birth: The team needed to quickly warm the newborn and use neonatal-resuscitation equipment to help the baby breathe independently. Then it was time for Clements to drive the patients to the hospital. That was easier said than done, as the snow was coming down fast.
Speaking with a WGAL-TV reporter after the event, Nathan Harig, Cumberland Goodwill’s assistant chief of administration, marveled at the uniqueness of the situation. "If Hollywood was writing this for one of those first-responder shows, all the first responders that I know would be rolling their eyes at the circumstances that happened,” he said.
Fortunately, a snowplow passed through at the right time. Escorted by firefighters, and with the plow leading the way, Clements ferried the mother and newborn safely to the hospital.
“It was really special to be a part of,” she later said.
Opening up the experience
Regional news outlets have been reporting on the rescue effort, and one such report has been picked up internationally via Yahoo News. This coverage has drawn attention to a new Dickinson initiative that trains students like Clements to become certified EMTs.
Dickinson’s EMS Academy program involves about 150 hours of classroom and hands-on training, often in the training house for Cumberland Goodwill, which answers about 12,000 calls each year. It provides hands-on medical experience and credentials to future medical professionals along with college credits. It also addresses a critical need, in the midst of a nationwide EMT shortage, and a chance for students to make a meaningful difference in the local community.
Although Clements was certified before last year’s program launch, she’s thrilled to see fellow students taking part it. “I think it will really open up the experience to more people,” she said.
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Published February 6, 2026