photo by: Bremen Keasey

Free State High senior Adrian Mendoza saved a choking woman at his job last Thursday. He cited his training from the Lawrence Police Department's Teen Academy as how he was able to be a hero for the day.

For Adrian Mendoza, a regular Thursday of work became a life-altering day — and not just for him.

The senior at Free State High School was working as a kitchen server at Pioneer Ridge Assisted Living of Lawrence and was handing out desserts when he heard a woman gasping for air. As he surveyed the scene, which included someone attempting to help the choking woman, he stepped in. After a few thrusts of the Heimlich maneuver, Mendoza was able to dislodge a piece of chicken stuck in the woman’s airway.

“It was just instincts,” Mendoza said. “I didn’t really have many thoughts other than ‘let’s go help this person.'”

Mendoza had learned life-saving skills and was CPR certified thanks to enrolling in the Lawrence Police Department’s Teen Police Academy — a two-week program where kids learn a variety of skills law enforcement officers use, from self defense tactics to first aid. Mendoza enrolled in the program for two years in a row because of his interest in a future in law enforcement.

After his past experience with the teen academy and his quick actions to save the woman’s life last Thursday, Mendoza said his drive to work in law enforcement was “solidified.” Although he said it has been strange to be called a hero in recent days, he is thankful for what he has learned and hopes to be able to help many others down the line.

“It was really cool that another human being gets to continue living their life for another day because of something I did to help them,” Mendoza said.

photo by: Contributed, Lawrence Police Department

Adrian Mendoza (right) learning CPR and First Aid skills during Lawrence Police Department’s Teen Police Academy. Those lessons helped him saved the life of a woman who was choking, as he used the Heimlich manuver.

Mendoza said after he helped the woman, she thanked him a lot as she was recovering, but then he just went back to doing his job. He said he didn’t even tell anyone else about the incident for a few days before he told his girlfriend and family, which was when he started to sit with what he did.

Bailey Salsbury, the School Resource Officer at Free State, told the Journal-World she was not too surprised when she heard Mendoza had saved someone’s life. She said she got to know Mendoza because of his interest in law enforcement and said he is an “amazing kid.” She also thinks the fact he had only learned those skills from the teen academy highlights how useful those lessons can be.

“This story solidifies how important it is to build our relationship with kids and provide opportunities for them,” Salsbury said.

Mendoza said while he was nervous when he went to help at first, once he started, the lessons he learned “all kind of came together.” Mendoza suggested that more people should look to get CPR-certified just in case so they can respond in urgent situations.

“You never know when someone will have a crisis,” Mendoza said. “I’d rather be the person who knows that they could save someone if they are in trouble than to be someone who just watches.”

Although he said he can’t become a law enforcement officer until he is 21, Mendoza said he hopes to one day work for the Lawrence Police Department, in part because of the connections he’s made with the teen academy. Before that, he plans to go to college and study criminology or psychology with hopes of potentially becoming a detective.

But while those plans lay in the future, he is thankful for the knowledge he gained from the teen academy training that allowed him spring into action to help someone.

“Saving her felt really fulfilling,” Mendoza said. “The feeling of contributing and saving her life was one of the best feelings I ever had.”

photo by: Contributed, Lawrence Police Department

Adrian Mendoza (bottom row, third from right) used lessons learned from Lawrence Police Department’s Teen Police Academy — a two-week program where kids learn a variety of skills law enforcement officers use from self defense tactics to first aid — to help save a woman’s life.