Emergency Response as Pilgrimage - Catlynh Phan 12/04

 When I joined Captain’s Emergency Response Organization  at CNU, I thought it would just be another campus role. I wanted to learn how to respond in emergencies and to feel helpful if something went wrong. But once I started training, I realized it was quietly reshaping how I moved through campus. We learned how to stop a bleed, how to stay calm in chaos, and how to read a scene with full attention. It surprised me how much presence that required. I had to be in my body. I had to look at the world around me instead of rushing past it. That is when it clicked that CERO was becoming part of my own journey, not something extra in my schedule.

We talk about journey as something that teaches you how to see. Pilgrims walk with intention. They are aware of the people around them. They learn to listen. They learn to respond. While our class looks at long distance trails and ancient stories, CERO gave me a modern version of that. A kind of campus pilgrimage where every hallway, sidewalk, and dining space becomes a place where someone might need help. Training with CERO pushed me to ask what it means to be present in a community and what values I actually want to carry with me. The syllabus says the course should help us discover our personal values and commit to them, and for me, CERO made that real. It showed me that care is not an abstract idea. It is a readiness to step forward in moments that are confusing or frightening. It is a willingness to meet people in vulnerable spaces.

What stays with me the most is how CERO changed the way I understand responsibility. It taught me that meaning does not always appear in big moments. Sometimes it shows up in small acts of attention. A glance. A question. A readiness to help. Those skills feel close to what pilgrims practice when they step out of their own routines and pay attention to the world. CERO helped me see that my journey at CNU is not only about studying or building a future. It is also about learning how to walk with purpose, how to stay open, and how to show up when someone else is hurting. That is meaning making in the most human form. And it makes the path ahead feel clearer.

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