Love and perseverance bring US paramedic recruit to Ambulance Victoria

Chicago-born Max Van Scott describes his journey to Ambulance Victoria (AV) as a tale of perseverance and a love story.

It took him well over a decade to achieve his goal of working as a paramedic, but Max said it was all worth it once he hit the road as a graduate paramedic at AV’s Montrose branch earlier this year.

“I feel like I hit the lottery,” he said.

“Montrose is beautiful, and my clinical instructors have been so supportive and dedicated to my growth. Being a paramedic is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and you can’t come in excellent. But I’m improving every day.”

Max grew up in the United States of America and studied a biological science degree at college, with the goal of becoming an Emergency Medical Technician or EMT, the US equivalent of a paramedic, in Chicago.

When applications opened for Chicago EMT positions, Max put his name in alongside 20,000 other hopeful candidates.

Over the next five years, Max slowly progressed through testing and waited for his application number to be reached. At the same time, he worked and volunteered at Foodbank – a turning point in his life.

That was where he met his wife, an Australian woman named Karen, who was in the US for a few years for work. They fell in love, got married and had a baby.

“We were pregnant again in 2019, but we lost our pregnancy in January of 2020, really late,” Max said.

“It was a really rough time. When I came home from hospital, there was a letter in my mailbox saying that my Australian citizenship had been approved. I showed my wife, and she said I’m buying the tickets tonight, let’s go.”

Two months later, Max had packed up his life and was ready to fly across the world for love.

“I was about to leave for the airport and was dropping my rental keys in my mailbox. There was one letter in there and it was from the Chicago Fire Department, saying my number had finally come up for an EMT role,” he said.

“I put it back in the mailbox and I flew to Australia. It was very symbolic to me, that I was choosing my wife and family over this dream I’d had for the last nine years.”

As Max and his family set up their new life in Melbourne, Karen urged him to not give up on his dream.

It meant Max had to go back to university and study a paramedicine degree. With his wife’s support, he did just that and a few years later he was in a position to again apply for a job as a paramedic.

“The day I was sworn in as a citizen to Australia, just two hours before the ceremony, I got an email from AV saying they would be contacting me with a job offer. That was one of the best days of my life,” Max said.

“It was funny how these huge moments – moving to Australia and getting my offer from AV – all happened in conjunction with something else huge.”

At the age of 35, in July this year, Max finally achieved his goal and began his career as a paramedic.

“Every day when I open my closet and see those AV shirts, it makes me so proud,” he said.

“I think my story is one of perseverance. I never gave up and I kept my eye on the prize. And everyone loves a good love story. I made a little sacrifice for love and persevered through, and I got there in the end.”