On Mondays and Wednesdays, senior Cyn’torreya Smith spends first and second period as a teacher’s aid for a second grade class at Baranoff Elementary. Although Smith spent weeks in CPR and First Aid training, she never believed that these skills would be called upon in the classroom.

However, on Dec. 4, while at lunch, Smith performed the Heimlich maneuver on her second grade student Moxie Maxwell.

“At the moment I wasn’t nervous at all because I knew that I had to take the initiative and jump into action,” Smith said. “I was taught how to do these things, so I wasn’t scared.”

As a member of the Ready Set Teach (RST) program, Smith spent six weeks training to be a teacher’s aid before she began her position at Baranoff.

“During the [first six weeks] we teach our students classroom management, how to write a lesson plan, and how to give lessons,” RST teacher Kelly Langdon said. “All of my students in RST are already CPR certified from Child Development, so we kind of revisit First Aid and CPR in the first six weeks to refresh their memory.”

When Smith recognized that Moxie was choking, she immediately put her training into action.

“Ms. Tory pushed on my belly so that I wouldn’t have something stuck in my throat,” Moxie said. “It made me feel better.”

When the Baranoff students go to lunch, they are under the supervision of lunch monitors and the RST aids.

“In this situation, Cyn’torreya didn’t have her mentor teacher to turn to and ask for help because she was on her lunch break,” Langdon said. “Thank goodness she acted the way she did, quickly and swiftly, to take care of the situation.”

When Jamie Maxwell, Moxie’s mother, heard of the incident, she was grateful for Smith’s quick actions.

“Up until this, I thought Ms. Tory was a college student teacher, and I was very impressed to find out that she was a high schooler,” Jamie said. “She could have asked a school lunch monitor for help, but she took matters into her own hands because she knew it was urgent to do so, and I am very thankful for that.”

After Smith ensured that Moxie was no longer choking and okay, she reported the event to her mentor teacher Kris Higgins.

“[When I heard] of her actions, I was very proud of her,” Higgins said. “I continue to be amazed by her and couldn’t make it through the year without her.”

When Smith told Langdon that she performed the Heimlich on one of her students, Langdon was shocked because it was the first time that a RST aid was involved in an emergency situation.

“Cyn’torreya handled the situation perfectly because that is just the kind of person that she is,” Langdon said. “I give her major props, and I am just super proud of her.”

After Smith saved Moxie, another teacher at the school approached her and thanked her for the life-saving actions she had performed.

“[After I helped Moxie], my students all got up and just gave me a big hug,” Smith said. “Knowing that they’re appreciative of me being there really means a lot.”

In order to make sure that Moxie was okay, Higgins sent her to the nurses office.

“If I ever met Cyn’torreya I would give her a big hug and thank her for being there for Moxie when I couldn’t be,” Jamie said. “Moxie is very lucky that she has people looking out for her.”

Smith described how she would review the poster on the wall that illustrated the steps of the Heimlich maneuver during lunches at the school. She said this simple act helped keep her First Aid skills sharp.

“I learned a lot about  Cyn’torreya in that moment, and I learned a lot about how the elementary school handles emergency situations like this when they arise,” Langdon said. “I have already been thinking about next year and how we might change our First Aid curriculum a bit because I want to make sure my students are prepared and confident for a situation like this.”

In addition to Child Development and the RST program, the required Health Education class offers CPR and First Aid training and certification for all Bowie students.

“First Aid Training and CPR would be very valuable additions to any high school’s curriculum,” Jamie said. “As seen with this, you just never know when you’re gonna need it.”

As Smith approaches the end of her senior year, she hopes to use her experiences from RST to launch herself into a nursing or teaching career.

“My advice for anyone who has to perform the Heimlich is to jump in,” Smith said. “You never know when you could save a life.”