Victoria Co. students participate in emergency preparedness course

Published 7:15 am Sunday, August 3, 2025

By Michael Milliorn

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service building, Victoria TX. (Michael Milliorn/Victoria Advocate)

Emergency preparedness skills are crucial for all citizens to remain vigilant, informed and prepared for any disaster or situation. It is important for youth in the community to stay equally informed and prepared to handle emergency situations.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, along with Victoria CERT and the Victoria Office of Emergency Management, held the first My Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) Texas course in Victoria County. MyPI Texas is part of the National Youth Preparedness Initiative, a multi-state initiative designed to teach youths important elements of emergency preparedness.

“MyPI is built off of a national youth preparedness program that was started by a Mississippi State Extension,” Luke Drosche, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension disaster assessment and recovery specialist, said. “The whole idea of it is to prepare our youth to be able to go out and prepare the community for disasters; overall, basic disaster preparedness.”

The MyPI Texas course held in Victoria County was the first held in the state of Texas, serving as a trial run for the Texas extension of the program. The students who participated in the course were recognized at the Victoria County 4-H banquet on July 31.

“All of the students were 4-H ambassadors, and they had all volunteered to give this course a try,” Drosche said. “Overall, they really enjoyed it. We saw a lot of growth from each of the students, a lot of stepping out of that comfort zone, trying new things and asking some of the hard questions to some of our career first responders that came in.”

Participating students were introduced to various careers in emergency response. Firefighters, EMS, police officers and emergency management personnel spoke with the participants. The students engaged in hands-on training with light exercises such as learning how to put out a fire with a fire extinguisher.

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    • Participants learned about disaster preparedness, fire safety and suppression, disaster medical, search and rescue and disaster psychology. Disaster medical includes topics such as stop-the-bleed and CPR. All students who went through the course completed CRP and stop-the-bleed certification.

    “We’re trying to build that self-confidence in their own understanding of how they can make a difference in the community, no matter how big or small,” Drosche said. “Texas is no stranger to disasters. We see a disaster almost every other month. Sometimes, when we see disasters, we feel like there’s nothing we can do to help. In reality, there are a ton of things we, as just general people in the community, can do to help.”

    Citizens can be prepared for an emergency situation by having a go-kit assembled, containing basic necessities like food, water, medical supplies, state documents and pet necessities. It is important to have a plan for if an emergency takes place, including where to go in the event of a disaster, who to meet up with and who to contact to confirm safety.

    Students who participate in the program build a go-kit and create an action plan for emergency preparedness. They then completed a kit and plan with six other community families. The MyPI Texas program in Victoria had 11 participants resulting in 77 families prepared with kits and plans.

    “We want to open it up more in the future,” Drosche said. “We had really great involvement from our partners in the community. The Victoria Office of Emergency Management was immensely helpful. We also had the Texas A&M Forest Service; the local regional coordinator here helped us out. We had the Victoria Police Department and the Victoria Fire Department. We had a great partnership, and we just want to make it bigger, open it up to more and more people.”

    Individuals who are interested in the MyPI course may access its website or contact the local county extension office. There is an adult course that will be offered through the Victoria Office of Emergency Management for any adults interested in learning about the CERT program.

    Michael Milliorn is a news reporter for the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at michael.milliorn@vicad.com.

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