Bill Todd, B.S. Industrial Management ‘71 and Professor of the Practice at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, is passionate about giving back to his alma mater.
He has established several scholarships under the Todd Family Fund to support the next generation of students, including a new Grady Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Scholarship. The scholarship is inspired by his personal experiences with EMTs and Lianna Homrich, a pre-med Biology student in his Management in the Healthcare Sector class.
Like many Georgia Tech professors, Todd spends time after class talking to his students about their career aspirations. One day, while talking to Homrich about Grady Memorial Hospital, he learned that she is an EMT with Central EMS and a member of EMS at Tech, a student organization dedicated to expanding access to and knowledge of emergency medical services at Georgia Tech.
The EMS at Tech club piqued Todd’s interest, and he immediately saw a gap he wanted to fill. The organization, coupled with his experience being transported by Grady ambulances three times in 18 months, sparked the idea to create the scholarship.
“I began to think we have a supply and demand problem,” Todd said. “I’m a strategy professor, and we have this big supply here at Georgia Tech with around 75 students working as EMTs.”
Todd, who has been on the Georgia Tech Foundation Board for 23 years, acted on his intuition and conceptualized, vetted, and funded the scholarship within 10 days of sharing the scholarship idea with EMS at Tech.
The Grady Emergency Medical Technician Scholarship works in tandem with the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy for EMT Training at Grady to support Georgia Tech undergraduate students who are current or aspiring EMTs. The scholarship covers tuition, books, and any fees to obtain national EMT certification and state licensure at Grady’s EMS academy. Grady's EMS Academy was established in 2015 to fulfill unmet needs and recruit high-quality emergency medical service (EMC) clinicians (EMT, Advanced EMT, and Paramedic) to serve Grady’s 911 EMS system.
“Many EMS academy students are dual enrolled at Georgia Tech and will be able to pursue ongoing training to advance their education and careers thanks to The Todd Family scholarship,” said Dr. Steven Moyers, vice president and dean of education at Grady Health System – EMS.
Todd said he's excited the scholarship strengthens the relationship between Georgia Tech and Grady EMS, ensuring a ready supply of skilled EMTs to serve the Georgia Tech and Atlanta communities.
The scholarship partnership with Grady also excites James Connor, a fourth-year computer science and public policy student at Georgia Tech. Connor is the president of EMS at Tech and an EMT for Grady Health System. His EMT journey began in high school when he volunteered with his town’s junior fire department. His father, who was an EMT for over 14 years, inspired him.
When Connor came to Georgia Tech as a first-year student in 2021, he became involved with the EMS at Tech club and rose through the ranks. As president of the club now, Connor has been instrumental in developing its initiatives like peer mentoring, skills training, and innovative partnerships—most notably with Grady EMS, which now stations an ambulance on campus.
The on-campus ambulance was another source of inspiration for Todd to establish the scholarship. The Grady ambulance on campus has already reduced response times significantly, a testament to its impact.
“I know one story where the response time was four minutes, below the national average of seven minutes,” Connor said. “Knowing we're helping to improve the response time, and more importantly, the time it takes to get proper care to the patients who need it while on our campus is incredible. I'm excited and thankful to Grady for its partnership on the scholarship. It's incredible to see this all come together so quickly.”
Homrich is happy she has joined EMS at Tech, which has been pivotal in fostering a community of students passionate about healthcare and emergency response. The club has been transformative for her and has improved her EMT skills. She has taken on leadership roles, including being a CPR instructor and helping with training programs.
Homrich is humbled to be a source of inspiration for Todd to create the scholarship and amazed at his quick planning. She recalled the initial conversation about the scholarship.
“When he told me about the scholarship idea, I immediately knew it would be great and help so many people,” she said. “In terms of processes, it'll be a generational effect where many EMTs will come from Georgia Tech with a strong work ethic and passion for medicine.”
