How Aaron Ross Builds Trust in Life’s Hardest Moments
A day in Aaron Ross’s life as a training officer with Walton County EMS is unpredictable—no two days are the same. Aaron (LCA class of 2013) considers that aspect of his job a double-edged sword: it’s both his favorite part and the most challenging. Yet, he thrives in his role because of his ability to quickly build relationships with people. “Whenever somebody calls us, typically it's the worst day of their life,” Aaron said. “So when we get there, something really, really bad is going on. I have to be able to create a rapport with that person that I've never met that may have a different lifestyle or different culture than me, and I have to make that rapport very quickly in order to even figure out what's going on that I can maybe help with.”
Aaron is hands-on in the training process for all Walton County paramedics. As a training officer, his main responsibility is staying up to date on the latest medications, protocols, and technology. Once he familiarizes himself with these developments, he shares that information with Walton County paramedics and ensures they are properly trained.
Aaron’s career with Walton County EMS began in 2016. Prior to that, he worked with Walton County Fire Rescue and then spent seven years at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. However, his current path might never have happened had he followed his original plan. Aaron initially wanted to become a pilot and was accepted into the Air Force Academy, aspiring specifically to fly helicopters. However, political changes led him to pursue a different direction. Angie Myers, an LCA educator at the time, helped him enter the Walton County Fire Department internship program, making him just the second LCA student to participate.
That opportunity set Aaron on a path to becoming a firefighter and pursuing higher education in EMT, paramedicine, and critical care. He attended Georgia Piedmont Technical College, where he earned his advanced EMT and paramedicine credentials. Today, Aaron is a nationally registered paramedic, a state of Georgia–certified EMS instructor, an American Heart Association instructor in multiple disciplines—such as CPR and life support—and holds a critical care paramedic certification. Overall, he is proud of his career pivot. “I wanted to stay in Walton County. I've had opportunities to go numerous other places, especially as my career has advanced,” Aaron said. “But I like Walton County because my family's from here, and I really like the community that we have in Walton County, serving the citizens here.”
Even 13 years after his time as an LCA Lion, Aaron recognizes the influence his alma mater had on his career path. He specifically credits LCA with preparing him for the rigorous coursework required for his certifications. “The level of academic rigor that you're put through is drastically more than what a typical public school student goes through,” Aaron said. “A lot of my peers, when I was in college, did not know how to study, and that sounds silly, but they did not know how to use effective time management and how to research a topic and write a report on it or do a paper. They didn't know how to do that, and if they did, it took them drastically longer than it took me, because I just knew how to study.” A few educators Aaron highlighted as key influences in his educational journey include John Leach, Mrs. Underwood, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Snow, and Mr. Dwain Dorsey.
Aaron attended LCA for 13 years, dating back to when the school held classes at Loganville First Baptist Church’s campus. During his time at LCA, he participated in Beta Club and lettered in cross country all four years of high school. Today, Aaron has been married to his wife, Anslee, since 2018, and they have two “wild and crazy” boys, Atticus and Oliver. They attend Eagles Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough. Aaron’s go-to hobby is reading, though he anticipates his next favorite pastime will be T-ball in the near future.
Looking back on his experiences and career path, Aaron shared two pieces of advice for current and future LCA Lions. “Follow your faith and know why you believe what you believe, especially if you’re getting ready to go into college. There’s a lot of people in this world to try and convince you of things and they don’t know why they believe what they believe,” Aaron shared. “Don’t worry about the little things because, in the grand scheme of life, the things that are a really big deal right now, if you look back a year from now, you won’t even remember them. So look at the bigger picture, even though that’s sometimes a very hard thing to do.”