E-Comm Police Call Taker Laura Rincon sings the Canadian anthem on stage at the NENA conference.
In her role as an E-Comm call taker, Laura Rincon regularly uses her voice to help people when they call the police. After winning a scholarship to attend the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) conference in Florida this summer, she was offered an opportunity to use her voice in another way: representing Canada by singing the national anthem on stage!
“I have to say it was a fantastic experience singing O Canada in front of 2000 people at the opening ceremony,” Rincon said of the unexpected invitation to perform. “It will be forever ingrained in my memory.”
Rincon successfully applied for a Gold Line Telecommunicator Continuing Education Scholarship through NENA and received complimentary registration for the conference as well as travel funds. The scholarships are open to any telecommunicator, call taker, or dispatcher with at least one year of experience who is in good standing with their current employer. Rincon said when she found out she had won, she was “ecstatic”.
Rincon was one of the Gold Line scholarship recipients at the NENA conference in Florida.
“To receive the scholarship, I had to write essay questions about how I got into the field, why I wanted to attend the conference, and how I would bring back what I learned to my call center,” she said. “I had not let myself get too excited, but when the email popped up on my screen, I had to call my parents right away to tell them the fantastic news!”.
The conference was held in Kissimmee, Florida (just south of Orlando) from June 28th to July 3rd. Rincon said there were many highlights, including networking with people from other regions and countries, and learning more about advancements in 9-1-1 technology.
Rincon fully enjoyed her conference experience, and is encouraging others to apply for similar opportunities.
“I learned so much valuable information about handling callers, different call types, peer support, technological changes, and center management,” she said. “Being able to experience all of the new Next Generation 9-1-1 available technology opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of the future.”
Rincon started her career at E-Comm in our student program and has been working as a call taker for two and a half years. She will graduate from Simon Fraser University this summer with a double major in Criminology and Political Science and hopes to work as a police dispatcher in the future. She is encouraging others in her field to consider applying for available scholarships to attend conferences like the NENA event.
“I recommend that everyone take a leap to learn new things and not be afraid to leave their comfort zone! I flew to Florida alone and made connections that would last me a lifetime, and I got a better sense of community and support for emergency telecommunicators worldwide,” Rincon said. “I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”
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