EAST AURORA, N.Y. ( WKBW ) Meet Jessie Roland-Bystrak, she seems like your typical 20-year-old woman. She plays soccer, recently graduated college from Hilbert with a degree in forensic science, but she is so much more. She is a volunteer firefighter in East Aurora.
"My desire to do that is just to be someones role model," said Roland-Bystrak.
She was recently chosen as one of two volunteer firefighters from across the state to feature in a new commercial sponsored by the Firemen's Association in hopes of attracting new recruits.
"I feel like I can show the young women out there that they can do it too, and also the young men too," said Roland-Bystrak. "Don't let anything stop you, it's so much fun. It's a learning experience beyond belief and it's like firefighting doesn't just help me with firefighting it helps me along the lines of school, my actual job a family."
She comes from a family with the willingness and desire to serve. Her father is a volunteer fire fighter in East Aurora and well known among the locals. Her husband recently served our country in Afghanistan, a call she wants to carry out into her professional life.
"I would like to be a police officer here in Erie County," said Roland-Bystrak. "I'm on the ready, and getting closer to wanting to become a cop and just work with law enforcement. It's something since I was 10-years-old that I wanted to be a cop."
The commercials were filmed in Clay, New York, which is north of Syracuse. They focus on the double lives that volunteer firefighters lead.
"You need to have a reason," said Roland-Bystrak, "and my reason is I love to have children see someone that they can look up to."
