A KOONDOOLA student has received an award from his school recognising his bravery in an emergency.
Mercy College Year 11 student Dion Emin was doing his work placement at Cafe Bellavista in East Perth in November when he helped a man (41) with stab wounds.
Principal Julie Hornby said Dion’s actions that night had shown his ability to act on college values beyond school grounds.
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READ NOW“He proceeded to help save a person’s life, recognising that the value of human life is intrinsic,” she said.
“Dion’s actions are an example of showing ‘love in action’ in acting to save the life of another and therefore carrying our Mercy values into the wider community.
“As Mercy College’s first ever school-based apprentice, he is an exemplary role model to his peers.”
In recognition of his “courage and strength of will”, Dion received the school’s Ursula Frayne award for justice and compassion at an assembly on December 4.
Since joining the school for Kindergarten in 2006, Dion has received other awards including the apprenticeship and traineeship trainee of the year award recently.
He was doing a certificate III in commercial cookery and has been working at the East Perth cafe for more than a year.
Police charged a Cloverdale woman (49) with intent to do grievous bodily harm in relation to the stabbing at Wellington Square on November 16.
UPDATE, December 14: Dion said he was outside waiting to be picked up when a man walked across from the park, holding his chest and asking him to call an ambulance.
“As he came closer, he stumbled to the ground,” the Dianella resident said.
“I ran inside, told Alfie to call an ambulance and grabbed a towel.”
Dion said the man had a knife in his chest and six stab wounds, so he used the towel to stem the bleeding and kept talking to him until emergency services arrived.
He said he had done first aid training as he had been part of the cadets for three year, which helped him keep calm during the emergency.
“I breathed slowly, then I went straight back into action and started helping him again,” he said.
Dion said he was surprised to receive the award, and helping the man had been reward enough.
“He is alive – he came in to see me (at work) and say ‘thank you’,” he said.
The Year 11 student said he wanted to be a chef in the army, which he planned to join when he was 19 and finished his apprenticeship.