JENELL TAYLOR
Staff Writer
For more than 150 years, Chautauqua Institution has acted as a hub for artistic expression, intellectualism, free thinking and belonging. Today, the grounds’ unique heritage continues to inspire residents to pour back into the community in their own meaningful ways.
20-year-old biology student Ben Allen is dedicated to making change that reflects the heart of the Institution. He recently completed his EMT certification and plans to pursue a career in the medical field. This fall, he’ll head into his senior year at Davidson College in North Carolina.
“There was a large textbook with different skills to cover, and once you’re done with that, you do an oral [exam],” he said. “You walk through the steps of taking care of patients, then you do your clinical hours.”
Allen said his clinical hours working with the EMT department helped him gain much of his experience. He ran first response drills and practiced maintaining his situational awareness skills, which came in handy for his first emergency call — a heart attack event.
“There’s really severe calls you go to,” he said. “You go to a cardiac event for one call, and then the next call you’re on a basic transport for someone who has a hospital appointment.”
Allen said it’s crucial for a community to have the proper access to medical care. Otherwise, “they can’t make it.” He said the program’s interactive qualities were a productive introduction to healthcare. “It’s a great way to ride along and understand your community better, because I went into all parts of my town,” he explained.
Allen’s knowledge in the program continues to serve him in his new role as health director at Children’s School. He’s charged with keeping track of important documents, including student immunization records, allergies, dietary restrictions and medications. He also assists in fire and safety drills.
“We did a missing child drill this week, you know — just in case anything severe happens,” he said. “We always want to be prepared — like making sure the teachers understand the process, and engaging with the administration and security.”
As part of his EMT training, Allen was taught the proper steps to take when assisting patients who might be feeling overwhelmed or apprehensive.
“A lot of our training is learning to adjust to those situations,” he said. “Dealing with geriatric patients, pediatric patients, babies and anyone who is in an altered mental status — having that training in talking to people is really important.”
He spoke about handling children with care and ensuring they understand the situation in order to “connect with them in a way that makes them feel safe.”
“When they come to you, they’re really scared — they just got hurt. Needing someone that’s going to talk to them and calm them down is a big part of it,” he said.
Allen said he has noticed positive reactions when the children are spoken to with care and respect.
“You can see them get better — and by the end, they’re ready to go back to class and have a good day.”
When he was a child, Allen attended both Children’s School and Boys’ and Girls’ Club, and later chose to return to work with the new students.
“For the Fourth of July, I’d paint my face with the American flag and we’d march down the aisle of the Amphitheater — I still remember everything about it,” he recalled.
Allen said his father was also a Clubber and would spend his days playing dodgeball and performing in Airband. His sister was involved in community programs as well, and would use her time to practice ballet in the School of Dance.
In fact, Allen’s family has been visiting Chautauqua consistently for more than 40 years.
“My family first came up here in the ‘80s with my grandparents — and my dad — he went through Club up here,” he said.
Allen said some of his fondest memories were made in Chautauqua, and named an Old First Night Run/Walk as one of his most memorable. However, he said the most notable were the days spent playing golf with his late grandfather.
“My grandpa — he recently passed away — [me and my sister] would go play golf over at the Golf Club here,” he said. “There’s a great course over there and I always remember being with my grandpa.”
Allen said his experience this summer is one example of a popular trend among young people in Chautauqua. Many high schoolers, he explained, attend Children’s School and Club as children and later return as counselors.
“It’s kind of like you can get your first job right out of school,” he said.
When he’s not on call at Children’s School, Allen is also the head lifeguard at Chautauqua’s beaches. “I’m there to respond to any emergencies — usually involving first aid or anything another lifeguard might need help with,” he explained.
“The people down there are just great to work with,” he said. “I work with Anna and Derek — the waterfront directors — and Alyssa, who oversees everything. They make it so easy to work up here, and it’s really enjoyable.”
Allen said thanks to Club faculty, the job has a relaxed atmosphere that makes it easy to bond with his fellow lifeguards and staff.
“They do a great job of connecting everyone up here, and it’s a great group of kids,” he said. “You go through Club with them and you make really good friends up here. I love that about it.”
When he isn’t on the clock, Allen likes to spend his time cycling and experimenting in the kitchen.
“I’ve been cooking since high school,” he said. “I cooked for my grandparents a lot at home — it’s always been fun.” “They’re from Louisiana, so we’d make jambalaya and stuff like that.”
At the start of his summer, Allen said he would bike about 220 miles per week and amassed more than 700 miles. Now that his schedule is fuller, he aims for a few 60-mile rides each week.
“I joined a group down in Jamestown that does a lot of cycling,” he said. “We ride out from Jamestown to Lake Erie and then out in all directions.” In the group of about 30 cyclists, he said the excursions are “a good way to explore the area around Chautauqua.”
Allen said he enjoys exploring the Chautauqua Institution Archives and was impressed by the Institution’s preservation of Chautauqua’s history.
“It’s cool looking through the archives — you can see the Children’s Beach and Pier Beach so many years ago and [they’re] still here,” he said. “The history of this place is just so cool.”
For the remainder of the summer, Allen said he can be found on the bike trails, filing documents at Children’s School or keeping a watchful eye over Chautauqua’s beaches.
“It’s always fun because the swimmers are always really appreciative of the lifeguards and they always say thank you after they’re done swimming,” Allen said.
Without that access to the beaches, he said, “Chautauqua wouldn’t be the same.”
Reflecting on his summer thus far, Allen said being close to Chautauqua’s beaches is the part he loves the most. After the intensity of his EMT program, he’s been enjoying taking in the calm nature of the Institution before he heads back to school.
“I love being outside each day,” he said. “It’s nice to just look out over the water.”
