CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi firefighter paramedic juggles her profession and motherhood while also being a role model for girls.
For seven years, Sarah Simonsen has dedicated her life to helping others while being a mother of two beautiful boys.
"It's very doable. I'm not the only mother here at the fire department.," Simonsen said. "There is a good group of us and we've all managed to make it work and we all love it. And not one of us would trade it for anything."
With the demands of her job and being a mom, she said it hasn't always been easy to balance both but she is able to do so because of her support system.
"Support goes a long way. I'm lucky to have a good support system with my family. They step up a lot when I am on long shifts," Simonsen said.
Paramedic Jose Gonzalez has worked with Simonsen for years, even graduated in the same academy with her. He says he's seen her grow not only as a firefighter but as a mother.
"She's always on the phone with them, always checking up on them. You can tell she cares about her kids. You can tell as a mother she does a tremendous job at staying on top of it while also having this demanding job," Gonzalez said.
Her 14 and 10-year-old sons love that their mother dedicated her life to saving others.
"They think it's pretty cool. They're proud to say their mom is a firefighter.," Simonsen said. "That's the most important thing is being a good role model for them."
Gonzalez said on top of being a great firefighter and mother, Simonsen is the ideal role model for the future generation of firefighters.
"She is a role model to not just her kids and not just people in the community but to young and older girls," Gonzalez said. "I think she is a perfect example of what the fire department is looking for and not just woman and men but people in general. And overall she does an amazing job at showing leadership and being what this department needs."