Jamie Schrimpf, who joined the Guard the week after she turned 18, was among the first to be activated this spring. She was told it could last three weeks, but the activation ended up spanning about six months.

Schrimpf, 22, of Oregon, spent several weeks training with about 40 other medics on COVID-19-related procedures. At that time in early spring, so much was still unknown about the virus. She and others researched as much as they could on their own.

The Guard then sent her to the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office, which was experiencing an influx of deaths. Schrimpf worked the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. shift assisting in transport of the deceased.

“I think seeing it firsthand has helped me,” she said. “Mortuary affairs, especially in my own backyard, really put it in perspective.”

The assignments came as UW-Madison’s spring semester drew to a close. Schrimpf is double-majoring in biology and gender and women’s studies with plans to attend medical school.

Continue reading at…https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/university/protests-polls-pandemic-wisconsin-national-guard-members-faced-a-busy-2020/article_1a970239-ef21-55fe-b7dd-6e413be593a1.html

This article was posted in Student Life.