2022 Recipient of NENA's Wendy Day Memorial Scholarship

Written by Sheila Rodriguez, published February 14, 2023

I was honored to be selected as the 2022 recipient of NENA's Wendy Day Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship honors the mission of 9-1-1 policy and regulatory development, women's empowerment within 9-1-1, and Wendy's valuable contributions to the policy and regulatory aspects of public safety programs across the country. The scholarship provided me the ability to attend 9-1-1 Goes to Washington.

I'm writing about my experience and encouraging everyone to apply for any scholarships out there for telecommunicators.

The scholarship provided me with a travel stipend, lodging, and registration to attend the conference. When I first arrived in D.C., I was a bit nervous being so far from home (I’m from California) but was more excited to start exploring. At the venue, there were several networking events, including a Welcome Reception and a Women In 9-1-1 Alliance Reception. There were also many guest speakers that talked about the state of 9-1-1 in the country and how they were working to improve the functionality of 9-1-1.

I was able to network with telecommunicators from around the country and exchange ideas with them on how we can better our centers. I walked to different historic office buildings with my California group and spoke to various congresspeople about some of the more important things happening with 9-1-1. We were able to set meetings up with members of congress or their representatives. We discussed Next Gen 9-1-1 and the reclassification of dispatchers as first responders. We nudged them to pass meaningful legislation, such as the 911 SAVES Act, which would benefit telecommunicators across the nation.

Not only was I able to promote the advancement of 9-1-1, but I was also able to learn about our nation’s capital. I visited the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, and Arlington National Cemetery.

I’ve always wanted to move up within my agency, that was always the goal, but now there are more specific reasons as to why I want to move up. One of those reasons is to advocate for my center and those who work within it and for dispatchers across the United States. We spend a lot of our time at work, and sometimes we spend more time at work than we do at home. We need to ensure that those working in the center are being taken care of. Being able to advocate for the 9-1-1 community and their deserved recognition as First Responders is extremely important and will help centers get more access to different things, like therapy and other items that are exclusive for “first responders”. With the emergence of Next Generation 9-1-1, dispatchers will possibly be viewing things that the dispatchers view and we need to make sure that we are proactive in preventing the prevalence of PTSD among dispatchers.

I am going to be honest; I did not think that I was going to be selected but I decided to apply for it because I had nothing to lose. I was so happy when I received the email that told me I had been selected. Without this scholarship, I would have never been able to experience any of this. I would not have been able to make lifelong connections or even be able to explore our nation’s capital. Winning this scholarship broadened my horizons, and I was able to bring back so much to my agency. Even if you don’t think that you will win, I encourage all of you to apply for all the various scholarships available to you. You may be surprised at the results! 

Thank you, Sheila for sharing your experience with us. If you are interested in writing a blog, please email amanda@911derwomen.com. Sign up for our newsletter on our homepage to stay up to date with 911der Women programming, exclusive content and blog updates. Click here and scroll to the bottom.

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