Melissa and Denisa Demczak
Teamwork comes naturally to Melissa and Denisa Demczak. Trained at MATC, the mother-daughter EMTs volunteer with the Cedarburg Fire Department.
Thank goodness Melissa Demczak and her mother, Denisa, and get along so well. Sitting at the dining room table in their Cedarburg home, the mother and daughter seem like sisters. They smile at the same things. They giggle at the same jokes. They tend to complete each other’s sentences and stories.
They truly like each other. And that’s a very good thing, since 24-year-old Melissa, also known as Missy, and 56-year-old Denisa decided in May 2023 to volunteer for the Cedarburg Fire Department together. That fall, Melissa, who was sponsored by the fire department, enrolled in MATC’s Emergency Medical Technician program. Denisa, who at first wanted only to drive an ambulance, also joined the program.
The college’s EMT program prepares students to work with other healthcare professionals to deliver critical, prehospital emergency medical care. Students who complete the program can take the National Registry Examination, a requirement for certification and licensure in Wisconsin. Together, the two women took courses at the Oak Creek Campus and received their technical diplomas in December 2023 at Winter Commencement.
“It wasn’t easy,” Melissa said. “But we found that what you put in is what you get out of it.”
Melissa and Denisa Demczak
Embracing hard work
Denisa Demczak was born in what is now known as the Czech Republic and grew up in Switzerland, where her parents moved to escape her birth country’s communist regime. Growing up, she learned to speak five languages. She met her husband in the United States during a family vacation. After marrying, she moved from Switzerland to Illinois to be with him. They stayed in Illinois for 16 years and had three children. While her children were growing up, Denisa always found a way to be an active mom and role model: She taught piano, drove a school bus, worked weekends at local farmers markets selling French crepes, and opened her own creperie and fondue restaurant. After moving to Ohio for her husband’s job, she worked early mornings at a bakery.
In Ohio, Melissa, the youngest of the three children, graduated from high school. She always planned to be a doctor. She attended Bowdoin College, in Maine, where she earned degrees in biochemistry and Francophone studies. Melissa moved to France and taught English for two years. “After a while, I figured I better get started on my medical school applications, so I moved home to save money and get ready for entrance tests,” she said. By that time, the family had moved to Cedarburg. Melissa took a job as a medical scribe, but she wanted to do more. “I always wanted to be an EMT, but I couldn’t pay for the extra schooling,” Melissa said.
In April 2023, the Demczaks met a full- time firefighter from the Cedarburg Fire Department at a chamber of commerceevent. They both wanted to join — Melissa to become an EMT and Denisa to become an ambulance driver. They applied and were approved as volunteers at the 157-year-old department in May 2023, said Diana Klingler, the department’s administrative assistant. The two women underwent department orientation, started attending monthly training sessions at CFD, and participated in department activities and fundraising events during the summer.
“At first, I was just interested in driving the ambulance,” Denisa said. “But then I found out about what EMTs could do, and I thought that sounded pretty cool.” In the fall of 2023, Denisa and Melissa started school. “Everyone was very accepting. I never felt like I was the oldest one in the class,” she added. “I thought the class was very impressive, and I was very excited to go through my first graduation in the United States.”
“While I was preparing for the classes, I was more nervous about going to class with my mom,” Melissa admitted. “I had always loved going to school, but now I had to share what I thought was my territory with her. But it was super cool to have her with me.”
Melissa Demczak and her mother, Denisa (opposite), suit up (bottom left) and check supplies (bottom right).
Ready for the future
With her diploma in hand, Denisa can’t wait to put her new skills to use with the fire department. “I’m excited to be able to go on probationary ride-alongs and continue to learn more on the ambulance,” she said. “Now I can be much more serious about helping out. Maybe in the future I will do more, like take advanced EMT or even become a paramedic.”
After spending the summer volunteering at the fire department, working as a medical scribe and taking several firefighting classes, Melissa started medical school at Des Moines University in August.
She plans to volunteer with Cedarburg during holiday breaks. Denisa is on the department’s active-duty roster to take ambulance calls.
“Both also have fire gear required to respond to accidents, and both can respond to fire calls as needed,” Klingler said. “In 2023, the department logged more than 1,500 calls; our call volume continues to increase every year,” she added.
During the summer, the mother-daughter duo attended the department’s monthly sessions for specialized training, such as Rescue Task Force, where paramedics, EMTs and fire personnel train with the police department to respond to active shooter incidents, when faster emergency medical intervention is critical, Klingler said.
“Denisa and Missy are really a great addition to our CFD family,” Klingler said. “Both are energetic, enthusiastic, caring and really want to make a difference in our community. I could tell that the minuteI met them.” ■
Learn more about the EMT programs at matc.edu.