By Allison Allsop
Casper Star Tribune
CASPER, Wyo. — One veteran student received a life-changing surprise in October.
At 66, John Mark Hutchins is older than the traditional college student. But his will to help the community has brought him back to school.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Hutchins said. “I want to help people.”
Hutchins is studying to be a paramedic with a special interest in air care for critical individuals.
He wakes up early every morning in his home on the west side of Casper and gets ready for the day. But his days didn’t start by warming up his car and loading up his bags. Instead, he would leave his home hours before his classes to start his walk to campus.
Hutchins made his 3-plus mile trek every day, no matter the weather.
“There’s been a couple of times when I got a little frostbite,” Hutchins said. “Sometimes a friend would pick me up and give me a ride.”
Hutchins has endured this struggle for more than a year and a half for his pursuit of a paramedic license. While he managed this challenge so far, it would have been hard to keep it up.
In the second half of the program at Casper College, students begin clinicals to have hands-on experiences in real-life settings.
However, luck seems to have been on Hutchins’ side lately. A Casper couple decided to donate their 2008 Ford Focus and wanted it to go to a veteran student at the college.
The couple reached out to the college through Liz Batton, who serves on the Casper College Board of Trustees. Batton recruited the help of Frank Grillo. Grillo is the founder of a non-profit that serves veterans called HERO Outdoors.
Grillo took the car to A-1 Tire for a few small fixes to make the car as good as can be.
Now, they just needed someone to give it to.
Phil Young, the college’s veteran and military-affiliated student services coordinator, said he couldn’t recall the first time he met Hutchins but frequently saw him in the Veteran Student Services Center.
Hutchins previously served in the U.S. Army for two and a half years as a medic. Hutchins said that he served in hospitals in Texas and New Mexico.
“He’s a really soft-spoken person, and he never really was too interested in ... really talking about himself,” Young said. “Just always a guy that was looking to help out and stuff, and so I actually hired him as a work-study.”
Young also gave him a ride to school at times if he spotted him walking to campus. If he hadn’t seen Hutchins walking, Young said he never would have known of Hutchins’ struggles.
Hutchins doesn’t talk about his hardships, according to Young.
“He just does what he needs to get done, to get where he needs to go,” Young said.
When Grillo approached Young about who would be a good recipient, he knew Hutchins would be an especially thankful recipient.
On the morning of Oct. 25 , Hutchins was surprised with his new-to-him car. Grillo was also able to raise money to cover the cost of registration and title fees.
“I feel I can still help save a lot of lives and even go on into medical research,” Hutchins said.
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