Firefighter Earns Degree After a Decade of Setbacks
By Mira Radovich, Senior Contributing Writer
Emergencies do not wait for convenient timing, and neither did life for Harry Gahagen Jr.
Between overnight shifts, emergency calls, raising three children and building a demanding career in public safety, Gahagen spent years putting everyone else’s needs ahead of his own educational goals. But even after more than a decade of setbacks and delays, he never let go of one personal mission: finishing his college degree.
This spring, Gahagen achieved that goal by graduating from Rio Salado College with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Public Safety Administration.
“Reaching graduation has been a long and grueling journey shaped by persistence, responsibility and personal growth,” Gahagen said.
Today, Gahagen serves as an acting captain and firefighter at the Palo Verde Nuclear Fire Department in Arizona, where he has worked in fire service for more than 16 years.
Long before enrolling at Rio Salado, however, his educational path had already taken several unexpected turns.
After graduating from Peoria High School, Gahagen attended Northern Arizona University (NAU) to pursue a degree in business management. During that time, he completed more than 160 credits, studied abroad at the University of Essex in England and earned an international business certificate.
It was also in England where he met his wife, who later moved back to the United States with him as he began his fire service career in California with the Orange County Fire Authority.
A Setback in Reaching the Finish Line
Despite completing the coursework required for graduation at NAU, changes to the university’s curriculum requirements created an unexpected roadblock.
“When I reapplied to finish my degree, the curriculum had changed,” Gahagen said. “The classes had the same titles and instructors, but they no longer counted toward graduation.”
At the time, Gahagen was beginning his firefighting career and could not relocate back to Flagstaff to complete the newly required in-person courses. Like many working adults balancing career and financial responsibilities, education had to take a back seat.
Still, the goal remained.
Years later, when Maricopa Community Colleges began offering bachelor’s degree programs, Gahagen saw an opportunity to finally complete what he had started.
“The Public Safety Administration program directly applied to my career in fire service,” he said. “Rio Salado gave me the chance to accomplish a long-standing goal that had been delayed for years.”
Gahagen decided to enroll, transferring some of the credits he earned previously at NAU and the University of Essex.
The flexibility of Rio’s online learning format proved essential for balancing school, work and family responsibilities. Gahagen and his wife have been married for 12 years and are raising three young boys, including a newborn.
“I often studied when everyone else was asleep or during downtime at work,” he said. “Being able to complete coursework on my schedule made all the difference.”
Commitment in the Classroom and the Firehouse
Despite working full time and raising a family, Gahagen excelled academically, completing more than 60 credits at Rio Salado while maintaining a 3.90 GPA.
His approach to school mirrored the same mindset he brings to emergency response situations.
“Submitting assignments that are complete and thorough is the same due diligence I give to every emergency scene I approach,” he said. “You need to continually educate yourself and apply knowledge to real-world situations.”
That connection between classroom learning and career advancement became especially meaningful during one Rio Salado course project.
Gahagen developed a proposal to modernize his department’s technical rescue program by updating training, equipment and rescue strategies for confined space and high-angle emergency situations.
The project included a cost-benefit analysis, implementation plan and training schedule designed to strengthen the department’s rescue capabilities.
“I was able to directly apply what I learned in class to my work,” he said.
Now that he has earned his bachelor’s degree, Gahagen is continuing to build on that momentum. He is currently pursuing his MBA and hopes to continue advancing into leadership roles in public safety and operations management, potentially serving as a captain or fire chief in the future.
For Gahagen, the journey reinforced the importance of resilience and persistence.
“Success is not always a straight path,” he said. “Sometimes you have to pause and adapt to keep moving forward. But the most important thing is to just start. You can never finish what you never start.”