In October of 2020, we lost retired captain, Gayle Johnson. Johnson was a pillar in the city of Lewisville, spending 30 years in the Lewisville Fire Department. In his memory, we established the Captain Gayle Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund.

We are proud to announce that Lewisville resident Guadalupe Carrillo is the recipient of a $1,000 scholarship. Carrillo graduated from North Central Texas College (NCTC) Fire Academy, one of the toughest programs in the area. She is also a Lewisville High School graduate and still resides in Lewisville today.

The NCTC fire program is overseen by Lewisville Local 3606 member, and senior fire fighter, John Copeland or Cope for short. Here is what Cope has to say about this amazing young lady:

The winner of the Lewisville Fire Fighters Association scholarship this year was a student in the NCTC fire academy and a graduate of Lewisville High School. Her name is Guadalupe Carrillo, or Lupe for short.

Lupe lives behind Lewisville Station 7. She became interested in this profession after seeing Santa rolling down her streets and hearing the sirens going past her neighborhood on calls.

She showed up at the academy sitting very meek and quiet, looking and feeling out of place. I'm sure she didn't say a single word the first weeks and somewhat stayed to herself. I would say that I was afraid she would struggle, just because of her demeanor, but I've been proven wrong way too many times to make stereotypical judgments like that, so I just watched. It didn't take much longer.

You may have heard we push the cadets at NCTC. You've heard correctly. There is a reason for this that I won't go into now, but suffice to say the students in our program have to dig deep to find out if they really want to do this job and understand that it's not about them. Lupe initially struggle, as many do, but it was very apparent that she had no quit in her. It wasn't uncommon for her to finish her class (8am-5pm) and then stay for the night class and do everything over again. She has grit and heart and sometimes that's enough. I'll take effort over talent any day, and she definitely has that.

I want you to know that you've spent your money well and given it to a deserving person. She wept with joy and shock when I gave her the check, and she wanted me to express her gratitude that she will carry always.

Cope

Congratulations Lupe from the Lewisville Fire Fighters Association!

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