QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Eric Dunphy

Email to a friend Permalink

Saturday, March 15, 2014

GoLocalWorcester Lifestyle Team

To celebrate Quinsigamond Community College's 50th anniversary, the college is naming "50 Guardians": QCC alumni and friends who have made a difference within the QCC and broader Worcester communities.

Ten Guardians from all manner of occupation and walks of life have already been announced, including this week's profile, Eric Dunphy, Vice President-Principal, Vital Emergency Medical Services. GoLocalWorcester will profile a Guardian every week, celebrating each of these 50 extraordinary individuals.

Find out more about Dunphy — plus how to nominate a Guardian — below.

Eric Dunphy, Vice President-Principal | Vital Emergency Medical Services 

From his childhood home in Great Brook Valley, Eric Dunphy announced his intention to enter nursing school after attending Burncoat High School.

In 1976, Dunphy began the initial phase of his journey when he graduated in the first male enrolled class from the Registered Nursing program at Hahnemann Hospital. With no experience in the field, he applied for and landed a job as the first Director of Worcester City Hospital Ambulance. There was just one catch — he needed to be a certified emergency medical technician (EMT). 

In 1977, Dunphy attended Quinsigamond Community College, where he earned an EMT certificate and then spent the next four years recruiting EMTs and helping coordinate the area’s first paramedic training program.
Dunphy, Vice President-Principal of Vital Emergency Medical Services, was recently named an Alumni Guardian by Quinsigamond Community College, for his service to the community and the college. To help celebrate QCC’s 50th anniversary, the college is naming 50 guardians who have made a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them.

The first 10 guardians were announced earlier this fall, and now QCC is seeking nominations from the community. Read more about the Guardians and find out how to nominate someone at www.qcc.edu/guardians

Dunphy joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1989 at the age of 37. While in the service, Eric held a series of healthcare positions, as Director of Marketing for Worcester Himmer Ambulance, then as an admissions coordinator at Oriol Health Care in Holden, and lastly at UMass Medical School/Commonwealth Medicine as the Client Relations Manager for the EOHHS/ Division of Medical Assistance.

In 2006, all of his previous educational and practical experiences culminated in the founding, with his partners, of Vital Emergency Medical Services, a successful medical transportation and emergency medical delivery system with more than 50 vehicles and a service area that includes Central, South, North and MetroWest Massachusetts.

If you ask Dunphy, he’ll credit QCC for “moving him along the path of his chosen endeavor.” In the mid-1990s, he delivered the keynote address to the LPN graduates and also serves on the QCC Foundation. “Quinsigamond is your first degree of education. It tandems nicely with the guardians,” he said.

Guardians should be people who have attended QCC or been involved with the college, and been transformed by their experience. It may have led them to further education, involvement in the community, or entrepreneurship.

The guardians represent the spirit of the College’s mythological mascot, the Wyvern, who was the guardian protector of our sister city, Worcester, England. Staff, faculty, and friends of Quinsigamond Community College also may be considered for this award provided they meet the eligibility guidelines. A selection committee will review nominations and choose guardians.

To nominate a guardian, go to www.qcc.edu/guardians and fill out the form provided. Watch for announcements on Twitter at twitter.com/50Guardians

---

Related Slideshow: Central MA Colleges & Universities with the Highest Student Debt

Related Articles

• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Ron Josephson
• College Admissions: Best Ski + Snowboard Colleges in the East
• New Business Insider Rankings: Top New England Colleges
• US News Best Colleges 2014: How Central MA Colleges Ranked
• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Sgt. Miguel Lopez
• College Admissions: Best Ski + Snowboard Colleges in the West
• New England Colleges That Are The Best Investment For Grads
• WPI Makes Sierra Magazine’s ‘Coolest Colleges’ List
• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Shawn Sanders
• College Admissions: High School Classes Colleges Look For
• New England Colleges With The Biggest Social Media Reach
• Worcester Colleges Award 54% of Degrees In STEM Fields
• QCC’s International Honor Society Plans Holiday Charity Events
• College Admissions: The 5 Most Unusual Colleges In The US
• New England Colleges With the Highest-Paid Grads 2013-14
• Worcester’s Clark University Named To New Best Colleges Ranking
• QCC to Host Community Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast
• Central Mass. Colleges Recognized For Tree Campus USA Distinction
• Forbes Names 3 Central Mass. Colleges Top Financial Performers
• New England Colleges with the Best Undergraduate Teaching
• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Iris Cotto
• Central Massachusetts School Open Houses: K-12 + Colleges
• Her Campus Ranks MA’s Betchiest, Geekiest Colleges + More
• New England’s 19 Best Colleges for Food
• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Florence LeClair
• College Admissions: 10 Extra-Curriculars Colleges Want To See
• Holy Cross, Clark + WPI Named Top Colleges by Forbes
• Princeton Review’s 2014 Rankings: All New England Colleges Ranked
• QCC’s 50 Guardians, Alumni Making a Difference: Michael O. Moore
• College Admissions: 10 Western Colleges Worth The Trip This Summer
• MA State Colleges and Universities’ Tuition Among Highest in US
• See How Worcester Colleges and Universities Rank for Student Debt

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink