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AF selects AFDW Airman for prestigious program

  • Published
  • By Capt. Renee Lee
  • Air Force District of Washington Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD. --  Senior Airman Matt Little was selected to the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program at Joint Base Andrews, Md. April 7. Little is currently a contracting specialist at the Air Force District of Washington and was selected to the military's pre-medical program for enlisted military members.

Growing up in Spokane, Wash., Little was exposed to various professions in the medical field at a young age. Among his close family members alone include two nurses, a doctor, a paramedic, and a fire paramedic. It was a natural and exciting welcome when Little and his family learned that he would soon join them as a medical practitioner - an Air Force doctor.

Upon his graduation from White River High School in 2005, Little continued on to Central Washington University, where he first studied accounting and then exercise science. It was during this time that he began seriously pursuing a childhood dream of becoming a firefighter like his brother-in-law, a former firefighter with the Buckley Fire Department in Buckley, Wash.

As a college student, Little spent three years working as a volunteer firefighter with the Spokane County Fire District 8 before testing for full-time firefighting positions. Unfortunately, gaining entrance into the unit, which involved taking a written test and an oral interview, proved to be more challenging than anticipated.

"I kept scoring well, but I was missing out on interviews because there were veterans who were scoring an additional 10 points for veterans' preference," Little said. "I spent over a year testing before I decided that I would enlist [in the military] and finish my bachelor's degree and get the veterans' preference points."

Little soon found himself at an Air Force recruiter's office.

"I told the recruiter that I wouldn't join unless she could guarantee that I got firefighting as my job," he said.

While firefighting was not available, Little instead took a shot at being a pararescueman, an elite member of Air Force Special Operations Command. Becoming a firefighter was still an ultimate goal, however, and learning about the possibility of getting a paramedic degree as a pararescueman drove Little toward the program.

After some soul searching and seeking more stability, he decided that a special operations forces career and lifestyle were not for him.

"I was given the chance to get out of the Air Force at that point," Little said. "But I decided to honor my commitment and stay in."

Little was reclassified into the contracting career field and was assigned to AFDW, where he has spent the majority of his career. During his time here, he hit several life milestones, including earning his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Maryland University College and meeting his wife.

Last fall, a mass administrative email caught Little's eye. It was an email seeking applicants for the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program, the military's prestigious 24-month pre-medical program for enlisted personnel. The program not only offers the full pre-medical program, but prepares admitted Airmen for the Medical College Admission Test.

"When I read about the program, I thought it was an amazing opportunity so I quickly got the ball rolling with my application," he said.

Six months later, Little found his name on the list of selectees.

"I was shocked, thrilled and extremely excited to be selected," he said. "I can't wait to go back to school and put all my effort into this program. I look forward to successfully completing it and moving on to medical school."

Little will begin EMDP2 in July and upon completion in two years, he will head to the Air Force's Officer Training School to join the officer corps as a second lieutenant. He will also apply for admission to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the military's elite medical school program. If all goes as planned, Little hopes to be a full-fledged medical doctor six years from the start of EMDP2.

"Joining the Air Force was the best decision I've ever made," said Little, who still hopes to be a firefighter one day at least in a volunteer capacity. "I am so thankful and proud to be able to serve and try to give back even a fraction of all the amazing things the Air Force has done for me."

Crediting his former firefighter colleagues as helping to shape who he is today, Little makes an effort to visit Spokane at least once a year, where his former colleagues and members of his family continue to reside.