Jessica Ziems: Hi, my name is Jessica Ziems, and I'm a fire lieutenant for the city of Milwaukee Fire Department. I'm honored to be the recipient of one of the 2025 Yvorra Foundation leadership scholarships this year.
Jessica Ziems: This scholarship gives me the opportunity to grow as a leader in a more intentional way. The fire service has a lot of demands physically, mentally, and emotionally. In 2023 in July, we lost a friend and a firefighter to suicide. It brought up a lot throughout our department and through individuals of the mental health side that we don't always talk about. The scholarship gives me an opportunity to go back to school and learn more about the mental health side and the first responders. I will be able to improve my knowledge and leadership skills to help better support my crew members so I can identify burnout, stress, get a better education so I can better support my crew and my brothers and sisters on the Milwaukee Fire Department.
