SAUGUS — A senior at Northeast Metro Tech in Wakefield was honored for his life saving efforts during an incident in Saugus over the summer.
Sebastian Cadavid went to the Wendy’s in Saugus over the summer when he unexpectedly administered lifesaving CPR to a woman who became unconscious in the restroom.
Cadavid, a student in Northeast’s Dental Assisting Program, was at Wendy’s on June 29 with friends after attending the Agganis All-Star football game in Lynn.
While waiting for his food, Cadavid heard people calling for help near the restroom area. He saw a woman suffering from a seizure on the floor and jumped in to help, having been recently recertified in CPR through his dental assisting coursework at Northeast.
Cadavid realized that the woman didn’t have a pulse and began chest compressions, which resulted in the woman regaining consciousness as police and firefighters arrived.
“I don’t know what came over me but I just thought to myself, ‘I know CPR,'” Cadavid said. “(Afterward) I was like, ‘Wow, I actually just did that.'”
Cadavid was recently recognized by the American Heart Association as a Heartsaver Hero after administering CPR on the woman.
The Heartsaver Hero award is given by the American Heart Association to people in the community who perform CPR in emergency situations.
Dental Assisting teacher at Northeast Metro Tech, Erin Selvitella, presented the award to Cadavid — the president of the class of 2023 and a member of the football team — last month.
“As a vocational teacher, we love to see our students put the skills and theories they learn into use, but this is beyond any of our expectations and had a huge impact on another person’s life,” Selvitella said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
