Mike Smith stumbled upon Syracuse University Ambulance through a series of fortunate coincidences.

On his first night on campus, he was invited to hang out at a friend’s apartment nearby when he noticed someone wearing an SUA patch.

Smith mentioned his experience as an emergency medical technician to start conversation, and found out everyone in the apartment worked for SUA. He had no intention of joining the organization five years ago, and still considers his involvement a serendipitous discovery.

In the last five years, Smith has worn almost every hat available with the ambulance corps. He has served as driver, crew chief, trainer, supervisor and hiring coordinator, and has found every role to have beneficial aspects, he said.

“Whether you’re a new member or a senior member, you have a real opportunity to impact the students,” Smith said. “It’s really rewarding. I’m very proud of the involvement because we’re giving a real service to the community and I’ve learned things that are hard to match elsewhere.”

From terrified freshman to accomplished graduate student, Smith has contributed all he could to SU.

This year marks his fifth year of involvement with SUA, his first full year with the IDEA Entrepreneurship program at SU and his fourth year holding a leadership role within the Theta Chi fraternity.

“It’s so easy to find something that you want to get involved in. I remember being a scared freshman and not having a lot of friends here,” Smith said. “Then I realized the campus is just about finding your niche of people. Whether it’s the ambulance corps or a fraternity, it’s about finding your network of people and diving right in. My interest in giving back is stemmed out of my interest with involvement.”

Smith is a graduate student from New Jersey who first arrived on campus as a freshman advertising and entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises major in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Smith said he believes his most important role as a member of SUA was providing relief for the victims that call.

He said calling an ambulance often implies a worrisome situation for the injured, and he enjoys comforting the patients seated in the back of the ambulance.

Now serving as SUA’s training supervisor and field training officer, Smith said he hopes to move the organization forward by training new members to be better than he was when he first joined.

“Something that I’m really proud of is my successors,” Smith said. “I think I’m very good at realizing how I did in my role, and more importantly, figuring out how the next person can do better.”

He became involved with the IDEA entrepreneurship organization last year as an entrepreneurial consultant for the startup program. He joined the group because he saw it as a chance to help students turn their dreams into realities by connecting them to the resources they need.

Caitlin Moriarty, a graduate student in the Janklow Arts Leadership Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, has gotten to know Smith through working with him in IDEA.

Moriarty said she believes Smith’s innate open-mindedness is what makes him so beneficial to a program like IDEA, and so inclined to be involved in a variety of things on campus.

She worked with Smith in planning Emerging Talk, an event hosted by IDEA, and was impressed with his ability to be a team player and work with everyone in the process.

Moriarty said she believes that even after graduating, Smith will add positivity to the group.

“I don’t think he’ll be leaving in any capacity,” Moriarty said. “Even at our last meeting here, he was talking about how he could stay involved after graduation. His enthusiasm will travel beyond him being here as a student.”

In addition to his involvement with SUA and IDEA, Smith is also a brother of Theta Chi and has served in several leadership positions within the group. Smith said he is proud of how much an entirely student-run organization can accomplish.

Throughout all of his contributions to the campus, he considers many of his accomplishments as events of fortune and shows gratitude for all of his luck.

“I refuse to believe that luck doesn’t come into play. Anyone who doesn’t believe luck comes into play, to me, is just lying,” Smith said. “I definitely believe I’ve earned some of the things I’ve got, but I definitely believe that luck comes with a part of it, too.”

Smith describes himself as a passionate advocate for SU because of all of the opportunities he was given. He tries to contribute so much to the university because it has given him so much.

He will be unable to volunteer for the ambulance services or his fraternity next year as an alumnus, but he still plans to remain in Syracuse and stay involved, Smith said.

“Some people aren’t involved and they don’t enjoy themselves. Then you have people who take the exact opposite direction, who get involved in many organizations and you see how it comes back in ten-folds,” Smith said. “As long as you find something, it’s really easy to come and give back.”

Published on April 22, 2013 at 1:56 am

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng