This fearless senior is the definition of ‘cool under pressure’

As a Pitt athlete, Ellie Breech had been required to take CPR classes after Pitt alum Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in 2023 while playing an NFL game. So, when her father's heart suddenly stopped later that year on Christmas Day, Breech was ready to save his life.

Since then, she's made it her mission to ensure others are ready, too.

"I don't want somebody to be helpless in the same situation that I was," she said. "I want people to be able to have courage and step up."

Two years after that incident and the media attention that followed, Breech has become an advocate, fundraiser and teacher for CPR preparedness. As if that wasn't enough, she also finds time to be a record-setting soccer goalie, a hospital technician and a dedicated student.

"I wouldn't be this busy if I wasn't really passionate about everything that I do - I just hope I leave a place better than I found it," she said.

A change of heart

Breech graduated high school early to squeeze in some practice with Pitt's women's soccer team before her first semester. Following her urban planner brother's advice, she entered the University as an engineering student and started working in a lab studying pavement engineering.

Meanwhile, she played goalkeeper : a uniquely high-pressure position where she developed a new grit and resilience. She eventually racked up 121 saves and 24 wins in the position of goalie, the latter being the highest in Pitt history.

"Being on the women's soccer team has taught me not to run away from pressure and tough situations, but rather to hop in and embrace them," she said. "Pressure is where I thrive."

Combine that grace under pressure with CPR training as a high school lifeguard, a refresher course from Pitt Athletics and a lifetime of dinner-table conversations with her ER-nurse father, and Breech was ready to spring into action when disaster struck.

After discovering her father in cardiac arrest on Christmas Day, Breech performed CPR for more than nine minutes while waiting for EMS to arrive and take him to the hospital. He eventually made a full recovery. Those nine minutes of CPR saved his life and prevented an even more catastrophic incident.

That day was a turning point for Breech, who began to reorient her studies around a newfound passion for health. She decided to pursue a natural sciences degree in the College of General Studies, allowing her to take a greater variety of courses and prepare to enter medical school. She also took on a role as a patient care technician at UPMC Shadyside, where she found an environment that reminds her of the camaraderie of the soccer pitch.

"I love the hospital, and I love the teamwork," she said. "And as a goalie and in the hospital, you have to shut out all the noise and just do the job."

Keeping the ball rolling

The switch to a natural sciences major came with a bevy of new degree requirements, including an introductory Spanish course that led Breech to another new passion. After an intensive period of cramming that included watching Spanish-language cartoons, she followed that interest to a six-week Latin American Studies program that saw her conducting independent research into conversations around women in sports in Medellin, Colombia.

Breech also began teaching CPR trainings and, seeking a more lasting impact, she teamed up with the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Project ADAM to raise funds for CPR training at youth sports clubs.

"Becoming an advocate for CPR education has been so fulfilling," she said. "I take so much pride in being able to, with the help of so many others, teach people how to become literal lifesavers with such a simple action."

Now Breech is headed to North Carolina State University, where she'll study for a year while playing soccer in her last year of eligibility. She plans to study psychology as she prepares to apply to graduate school.

In addressing younger students, Breech has lots to say: Take advantage of opportunities, find ways to engage with the city of Pittsburgh, and never be afraid to take the first step toward something new.

One message, however, stands out for being a bit more specific.

"With all these fantastic medical dramas, you don't get the most accurate depiction of CPR," she said. "It's really important to me that people know that you've got to press a lot harder than what they're doing on Grey's Anatomy."

Photography by Tom Altany