Infinity Beatty-Metcalfe's graduation from Hennepin Healthcare's paramedic trainee program on Friday may have been destiny, but it was a delayed one for the 31-year-old. She pushed herself after growing up in foster care to become an emergency medical technician (EMT) at 19. But Beatty-Metcalfe burned out from the intensity and frequency of ambulance runs in St. Louis. She had been inspired after witnessing the heroism of paramedics who brought a baby born prematurely to a hospital by helicopter. But paramedic training seemed impossible while working to pay bills and starting a family. "That's a lot of balls to balance," Beatty-Metcalfe said. Her struggle is exactly why Hennepin Healthcare's emergency medical services (EMS) division created its trainee program in 2020, paying EMTs to work part time while completing accelerated paramedic training.