2 min read

As a senior at Winthrop High School, Eben Michaud has already started to embark on his next chapter in life. Before he starts college, Michaud will be able to say that he became a medic, went to basic training and visited several countries in Europe.

Michaud, 18, joined the Maine Army National Guard in October 2023 and after graduation plans to attend basic training.

But even before that, Michaud is almost on his way to becoming a certified EMT through Capital Area Technical Center, where he has trained to become a medic in the Army National Guard.

“It’s something in my family and I always looked up to it and thought it’s incredible,” Michaud said of his decision to join the Army National Guard. “It took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to do, and I figured it would be a great idea to serve my country. It is also an opportunity for some adventure and something a little different than other kids in my class.”

Michaud also is on the track, cross country and tennis teams and on the prom playlist club, which picks out the songs to play at prom.

Advertisement

This summer, he’ll attend 10 weeks of basic training before entering the 16-week-long program to become a medic in the Army National Guard.

Winthrop High School senior Eben Michaud, seen May 24 in the school gym, has ambitious plans after graduation as he is set to travel around Europe this summer before attending basic training and studying to be a medic with the Maine Army National Guard. He also plans to study forestry at the University of Maine beginning in 2025. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

He settled on becoming a medic because the idea of helping people appeals to him and it’s a skill he can use for the rest of his life.

Michaud plans to complete all of that before he is scheduled to start college at the University of Maine in Orono in 2025, where he wants to study forestry with the goal of becoming a park ranger.

“I’m excited. There are definitely going to be struggles and things are going to be harder for our generation, but I think we have to take it as it comes and do the best with what we have,” he said. “You have to look forward to your future.”

A few days after Michaud graduates, he plans to travel to Europe with his sister, Ella, 21.

They plan to go to London, Amsterdam, Germany and then to Paris, where they will see a former exchange student who lived with his family.

“It’s going to be a great experience,” Michaud said.

Emily Duggan is a staff writer for the Kennebec Journal. She graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire, where she was a news editor and staff writer for The New Hampshire....

Comments are no longer available on this story