Two new members of Fire Department New York’s Emergency Medical Squad (EMS) celebrated their graduation on March 30—and just when things couldn’t get any more celebratory—they proposed to their girlfriends at the ceremony.
EMS Academy graduates Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Antwann Morales, 25, and EMT Shane Mezzacappa, 26, told Epoch Times their story:
EMT Antwann Morales:
“It was planned for 3 months prior to the actual proposal,” said Morales, adding that despite taking months to prepare for it, he was still nervous: “I just wanted everything to be perfect,” he said.
His fiancé, Rosanna Gomez, thought he was going to give a speech for his squad.
“But it was actually for her,” he said.
Although Morales was looking forward to his graduation, he couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen right afterward.
“I was more nervous about the proposal then my graduation. But that’s just because I always put her before myself. I really wanted it to be perfect in her eyes,” he said.
And indeed it was perfect. His wife-to-be is still “speechless,” he said.
Morales was on the streets working on his new career yesterday morning, “but I know if I was home, we would be talking about it all day,” he told Epoch Times.
When asked if they have a wedding date yet (though it’s still pretty early), he said his fiancé wants everything to be perfect and “wants about two years for planning.”
Life couldn’t get any better for Morales: A fiancé and a new career: “This is the greatest job in the world,” he said.
EMT Shane Mezzacappa:
“We’ve been dating for 5 years,” Shane told the Epoch Times, referring to his fiancé, Corinne Hankey.
From the moment he laid eyes on Hankey, he knew they were “instant soulmates.”
It wasn’t a question of “if” to propose to her but “how,” Mezzacappa said.
He figured why not “kill two birds with one stone” on his big special day.
And it was truly was special day for Mezzacappa:
After the FDNY graduation ceremony ended, Mezzacappa orchestrated his fellow classmates from the academy to help him with the proposal.
They held up cards that read, “CORINNE WILL YOU MARRY ME ?”
Mezzacappa said he grabbed Corinne by the hand, and walked her to the front of the stage to reveal what the cards read.
Mezzacappa got on one knee and told Corinne, “You have already given me a lifetime of love and happiness. Give me the chance to spend the rest of my life trying to give you back the same. Corinne will you marry me?”
She said yes.
Still, the proposal did not diminish Mezzacappa’s ceremony and the reason he was there.
Recalling his father advice: “Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life,” he told Epoch Times. “I’ve always had a passion for serving our community and helping people.”
Both EMTs Morales and Mezzacappa started their dream job on Thursday, March 31—and their fiancees will be with them every step of the way.
