Southern Door’s Brandon Kaczmarek will not be going down the same road as many other valedictorians upon graduation. While many valedictorians look to an Ivy League or another four-year university for their post-secondary education, Kaczmarek will be attending Fox Valley Technical College to pursue an associate’s degree in firefighting. After college and his current stint with the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department, he hopes to join a local career fire department after he completes college. Kaczmarek said some asked him if he was sure that he wanted to pursue firefighting, knowing what his grades were entering his final year of high school. He doubled down. 

BUG Fire Chief Curt Vandertie says Kaczmarek has been a great addition to the fire department since he joined at the beginning of the school year as part of their partnership with the district. Even he was taken aback by Kaczmarek’s decision to go into the field after learning he was the valedictorian.

Firefighting was not all Kaczmarek did in high school, in addition to keeping a high grade point average. Kaczmarek completed over 40 hours of community service, including volunteering as a middle school tutor. He was also a member of the band, student council, football team, Buhr archery club, community fab lab, and prom court. Southern Door hosted its commencement exercises on Sunday. You can listen to our entire interview with Kaczmarek by clicking this link.