Kent State University freshman Josh Paulin is not only a good student, but also an exemplary citizen.
Recently, Paulin saved a man’s life, which motivated Kent State’s Department of Public Safety to honor him for his heroic acts.
It all started while he was waiting at a bus stop near the Kent Student Center Kiva. Paulin saw a man walk behind him, and then heard a loud thump. The man had collapsed.
“So I turned around and saw that he was on the ground unconscious,” Paulin recalls.
Using his training as an Eagle Scout, Paulin kept the man’s airways open until paramedics arrived.
“I rolled him over on his side, I took off my jacket and put it underneath his head because his head would have been leaning too far down,” he says. “I was worried about his neck.”
Paulin’s quick thinking helped the man regain consciousness. He even started breathing again.
Paulin’s heroic actions represent the core values of Kent State. As a result, Kent State Police Chief Dean Tondiglia presented Paulin with the Public Safety Citizen’s Award.
Jennifer Kulics, Kent State’s interim associate vice president and dean of students, witnessed the award presentation.
“We are so very proud that he would be that selfless,” Kulics says. “To me, it shows that we truly have students who are undeniably Kent State.”
Paulin refuses to consider himself a hero. He says he just wanted to help.
“I don’t want to be another bystander saying, ‘oh, poor him,’ and then walking off,” Paulin says. “I thought he would have done the same for me.”
Despite his training and skills, Paulin does not have any plans to enter the field of public safety. Paulin is an accounting major in Kent State’s College of Business Administration.