Athena Papoutsis is a Canadian Red Cross First Aid instructor in Toronto.
Shortly following one of the first First Aid classes she ever taught, Athena Papoutsis received a message in her Facebook inbox from someone she didn't know.
She was surprised to find out the message was from one of her students. He wanted her to know that he just saved his co-worker’s life, with his recently learned first aid skills.
“It made me feel like I am making a difference,” she says.
This is just one of many stories Athena has heard during the past two years, as a Canadian Red Cross First Aid instructor in Toronto.
It is her desire to help others that led her to become an instructor. The 25 year-old is also a nursing student at the University of Toronto and has provided training to her fellow students.
She says the skills she teaches are so simple ,but also so important.
“I think it’s good that people know how to act so they don’t panic,” she says. “Most of the time emergencies happen with your families and friends.”