Camilo Olivieri, center, is COM’s first Emergency Management Program certificate graduate. From left, Trish McIntosh, program coordinator, Olivieri and Nicki Bender, program instructor.
Camilo Olivieri, center, is COM’s first Emergency Management Program certificate graduate. From left, Trish McIntosh, program coordinator, Olivieri and Nicki Bender, program instructor.

College of the Mainland, the only community college in the Houston/Galveston area with an emergency management program, has graduated its first student.

Camilo Olivieri, of Pearland, earned a certificate in emergency management. He began the program when it launched in fall 2016.

“Not only will the program give me a credential, which makes me more marketable, but it deepens my knowledge of preparedness,” said Olivieri.

Olivieri currently works for Safety Management Systems’ offshore sites as an emergency management instructor and assessor. He has an associate degree as a firefighter/paramedic from a university in Venezuela.

“In classes I got more information on the public sector of emergency management,” explained Olivieri. “This will help me do what I’m doing at a higher level.”

The COM Emergency Management Program offers two certificates and an associate degree, which do not have to be completed in order.

At this time, all classes are in the evening and a hybrid of online and classroom instruction. Classes are open to students working on their high school equivalency diploma in the COM Adult Education Program as well as those with degrees in other fields. 

“Classes are only eight weeks long so people who work in emergency management can fit them in rotating schedules,” said Trish McIntosh, program coordinator.

Students will learn about effective communication, leadership, contingency planning, coordinating volunteers and working with multiple agencies. 

“All of our instructors are experienced in emergency management and have advanced degrees in their field,” said McIntosh. “This program is ideal for people who are interested in getting in the field or those already in emergency management who need credentials to move forward.”

Emergency management professionals are in demand in city, state and federal government and nonprofit organizations to mitigate effects of disaster and to coordinate recovery efforts. The Texas Workforce Commission projects nearly 20 percent growth in emergency management careers between by 2022.  

For more information on the COM Emergency Management Program, visit www.com.edu/emergency-management.