Nursing Major Is Honored for Aiding Heat-Exhausted High School Students

Bea Mikayla Faigal, an Air Force ROTC cadet at Rutgers, earns the Silver Valor Award for a voluntary act of heroism at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

Bea Mikayla Faigal, a Rutgers nursing student and a cadet with the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps, relied on medical training and military discipline to aid high school students experiencing heat exhaustion on a scorching summer evening at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

The sophomore, who attends the School of Nursingat Rutgers University-New Brunswick and serves in Air Force ROTC Detachment 485, received the Silver Valor Award in late November for her efforts. The honor is awarded to cadets for voluntary acts of heroism.

Faigal and fellow ROTC cadets were helping as cadet training officers during a weeklong leadership course for Junior ROTC high school cadets on June 23 at Fort Dix on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, about 16 miles south-southeast of Trenton, N.J. It was a hot (in the 90s) and humid evening - dinnertime for the cadets. Many of the high school students were outside the fort's dining facility, waiting in line to eat.

"Because it's a big group of kids, you can only have a small amount of them enter the dining facility at a time," said Faigal, who noticed some students were sweating "and some of them were just trying to shake off" the heat and humidity.

Air Force ROTC Cadet Bea Mikayla Faigal (left) is awarded the Silver Valor Award from Lt. Col. Kristine E. Poblete, commander of Detachment 485, on Nov. 21 in the gymnasium of the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center at Rutgers-New Brunswick.

"That was when we all started to get a little worried because we could see the visible signs of heat exhaustion," said the Hainesport, N.J., resident, adding that a nurse, emergency medical technicians and two ambulance crews were on hand at the dining facility tending to victims of heat exhaustion. "At that moment, it clicked in my head. What if there are kids not feeling well back at the barracks? What are they going to do? They don't have anyone."

Faigal, a 19-year-old certified lifeguard trained in CPR and first aid, hurried back to the barracks, about a quarter mile away. Upon arriving, a cadet approached her.

One cadet asked, "'Can you help us? My friends are feeling nauseous and we don't know what to do,'"Faigal said.

Sheassessed their symptoms, gathered key information and moved the affected junior cadets to the infirmary.

"I kept them calm with conversation - asking about Junior ROTC, their hobbies, interests, summer plans and anything to keep their mind off the overwhelming situation they were in - while monitoring their condition," she said. "I cooled them with ice, fans and water."

Faigal then focused her efforts on one cadet who grew anxious.

"I could tell as soon as more personnel came, she was getting more frazzled," said Faigal, adding that the cadet asked her to be in the ambulance with her. "I started doing breathing exercises with her to calm her down. And I remember her mentioning her plans over the summer, 'We're going to the beach,' so I told her, 'Let's imagine you're at the beach right now and just take some deep breaths with me.' The private setting, calming techniques and ongoing support helped stabilize her vitals and she was cleared by the EMT in the ambulance to remain at the Cadet Leader Course."

ROTC officers cancelled the remaining days of the leadership course after the evening incident and a power outage the following morning - but they took note of Faigal's actions.

I heard from other people it was like everyone was glued to her. She was like a paramedic or an EMT or a doctor ... and she was just bam, bam, bam. She does that with everything in ROTC. She always puts others' needs before her own. She did an amazing job.

Justina Anitului

A cadet with Detachment 485

"Drawing on her budding medical knowledge and a previous lifeguard certification, Cadet Faigal stepped forward and demonstrated extraordinary composure," according to a post on Facebookby the Air Force ROTC. "She immediately assessed symptoms, ensured hydration and personally escorted affected cadets to secondary care facilities from the barracks. Cadet Faigal's decisive and experienced care directly contributed to the well-being and recovery of more than 30 cadets."

Faigal received the Silver Valor Award, the second most prestigious Air Force ROCT award behind the Gold Valor Award, during an award ceremony on Nov. 21 in the gymnasium at the Sonny Werblin Recreation Center on Busch campus at Rutgers-New Brunswick.

"The Silver Valor Award is not just about that event, it's a representation of her overall leadership," said Justina Anitului, a cadet with Detachment 485 who was Faigal's flight commander and primary trainer during the fall semester. "It's a big award to get. And honestly, she deserves it a hundred percent. I'm sure all of our cadre and everyone thinks the same way, and I'm super proud of her."

Anitului, a 21-year-old Linden, N.J., resident who attends the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciencesand is pursuing a master degree in United Nations and global policy studies, added that Faigal has a "natural ability to help others."

"The fact that she's majoring to become a nurse makes so much sense because of her character," said Anitului said. "I heard from other people it was like everyone was glued to her. She was like a paramedic or an EMT or a doctor ... and she was just bam, bam, bam. She does that with everything in ROTC. She always puts others' needs before her own. She did an amazing job."

As a ROTC cadet who has "done a lot more than the average college student" by 10:00 a.m., Faigal said her ties to nursing and military service are familial.

"My parents have played a significant role in shaping my decision to pursue the career path I've chosen," said Faigal, whose mother is a nurse, her father is a retired member of the Air Force and her older brother attends the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Bea Mikayla Faigal received this citation as part of her Silver Valor Award.

Calling her mother one of her biggest role models, Faigal remembered growing up "and seeing the way that she takes care of people both in and out of her profession on a day-to-day basis."

"I can see her selflessness and genuine care for others, which are both key characteristics I strive to emulate," she said.

Faigal, a member of the Rutgers Student Nurses' Associationand part of the community outreach committee for School of Nursing's Student Senate, joined Detachment 485 in the fall semester of her first year at Rutgers. (Rutgers-New Brunswick hosts all three ROTC branches - Army, Navy and Air Force.)

"I knew I wanted to have a college experience and with Rutgers ROTC," said Faigal, who also participates in the School of Nursing's peer mentor program. "I knew I'd be able to have a little bit of both the military and also college life. And I was like, 'You know what? You never know until you try.' And now, ROTC is a special component of my college life and I love it. I feel very at home, with all of the valuable connections I have made, and it's my sense of community at Rutgers."

She said she appreciates the discipline of ROTC - along with the values that officers have instilled upon her.

"I've learned to really live by all of those values, both in and out of ROTC," said Faigal, who encourages others to consider ROTC. "Each semester, as I continue to learn more about myself through this program, I feel as though it's truly molding me into the best version of myself."