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Matthew Cushing, a UofL Master of Arts in Higher ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Administration student and active-duty U.S. Army officer, saved motorists injured in a car accident during a recent commute to work.

Cushing, who is assigned as the assistant professor of Military Science at Jackson State University’s Reserve Officer Training Corp program, came upon the scene of a three-car accident on January 14. He directed two bystanders to help him free a man who was trapped in one of the vehicles. When they were initially unable to get the man free, Cushing used a fire extinguisher to bend the broken window so they could extract the man.

Once the man was free of the vehicle, Cushing used his Army medical training to assess the man’s injuries and determined the man had a significant head wound. Cushing directed one of the two men who helped him to keep pressure on the man’s head as Cushing went to check on drivers and passengers in the other vehicles involved in the accident.

At the second car, he found a woman whose arm and shoulder appeared to be hurt, though there no signs of major bleeding. Once he determined the woman’s injuries weren’t life threatening, Cushing went to check on the third vehicle, but the driver had apparently fled the scene.

When the Emergency Medical Technicians arrived, Cushing helped load the seriously injured driver into the ambulance. With the assistance of a police officer who had arrived on the scene, Cushing then searched the man’s car for his phone. He used the phone to call the injured man’s girlfriend to let her know what happened and what hospital the man was being taken to.

Cushing started in UofL’s Master of Arts in Higher ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Administration program as part of U.S. Army Cadet Command’s Master Educator Course. The course, a collaboration between UofL and U.S. Army Cadet Command’s, is a two semester experience, including a four-week instructor boot camp, focused on the knowledge and skills Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers need to be effective senior Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC) instructors. 

Upon completion of the Master Educator Course, soldiers earn 18 semester credit hours toward UofL’s Master of Arts in Higher ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Administration degree. The soldiers then have the opportunity to complete the remaining 18 semester credit hours in the program to earn their Master of Arts in Higher ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Administration degree.

Cushing is scheduled to graduate from UofL’s Master of Arts in Higher ³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Administration program in May 2021.

Story written by Kyle Hurwitz, director of UofL’s Military and Online Initiatives.