We recently welcomed Jill Ernst, MS, BA, NREMT, to our Emergency Preparedness team as our Readiness and Response Facilitator.
Jill comes to us from TriHealth, where she served as the Lead Employee Health Technician. She is also an active EMT with the Ripley Life Squad in Brown County.
We took a few minutes for a brief Q&A with Jill to find out what makes her tick.
Q: Welcome, Jill! Can you tell us a bit about your background?
A: I worked at TriHealth since 2007 with experience in the emergency department and employee health. I am also a licensed EMT with 8 years’ experience on a life squad. I completed an internship with the EMA during grad school. I received all three of my degrees from the University of Cincinnati. My MS is in public health with a focus on emergency preparedness.
Q: What’s your favorite stress-relieving activity outside of the office, and why?
A: Reading my People magazine (because I like to read about celebrities and their ridiculously funny habits and complaints). Also going to the gym. I like to focus on upper body/core strengths such as weight lifting.
Q: What are you most proud of, personally or professionally?
A: Buying my own home last year (all by myself).
Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: Not my biggest, but one that occurs frequently: when holding a cold water bottle and condensation runs off the bottle and down my arm.
Q: If you could, what time period would you visit in history?
A: Late 1800’s: when the world was just discovering facts about public health issues.
Q: If you could drink one drink other than water for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Sweet tea – cut ½ and ½ (I don’t need all that sugar)! I have been drinking sweet tea for ten years, on and off – but it is a favorite afternoon drink.
Q: Did you play any sports in high school or college?
A: I was a cheerleader/dancer all the way through undergrad. The dance teams I have been on were pop/hip-hop dance styles. I started in ballet but transferred to hip-hop. (I tried out for the Ben-Gals twice a few years ago but didn’t make it – and that’s ok).
Q: What was the first concert you ever went to?
A: Spice Girls at Riverbend!
Q: What are your favorite songs from your teenage years that you still rock out to when nobody is listening?
A: Boy bands – *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys,
Q: If you could have dinner with any person living or dead, who would it be and why?
A: Princess Diana – she was a huge world role model and I liked the changes she tried to enact.
Q: What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve received?
A: It is ok to make mistakes and learn from them. No one is perfect.
