Shaun Rodrigues, a first quarter Automotive Technology student, was driving to class the morning of January 25 when he saw a terrible accident occur on Route 95 in Providence. What happened next would change two lives forever and give Shaun the title of "hero", again.
Shaun was traveling south on Route 95 when he saw a northbound tractor trailer truck jackknife and saw its engine fly onto the interstate. The truck then hit the Broad Street overpass and burst into flames. Without hesitation, Shaun stopped his truck and jumped over the jersey barrier and tried to open the doors to free the two men inside the burning truck. Unable to open the doors, Shaun jumped on the hood of the vehicle and broke the windshield with his elbow. He lifted the 280-pound unconscious man from the driver's seat and dragged him to the Jersey barrier. He then went back for the man's son, who was also unconscious in the back of the cab. Almost immediately after Shaun pulled the son to safety, the truck's diesel engine exploded and ignited Shaun's coat and sneakers. Throughout the ordeal Shaun states that he was scared, "I figured there was a definite chance that all three of us were going to die but there was also a chance that I could save these people."
By now another motorist had stopped to assist Shaun with keeping the fire under control until the fire department arrived. They stopped every passing truck they could to request their fire extinguishers. By the time the fire trucks arrived, they had gone through 30 extinguishers.
Once the accident victims were taken to the hospital, the EMT's looked at Shaun and told him he needed to go and get checked out as well. Although he knew he needed to go to the emergency room, Shaun's first instinct was to go to class, "I didn"t want to be marked absent because I know it affects your grades," stated Shaun. It may sound crazy to others but that is how important Shaun's education is to him. Certainly, his instructor gave him the excused absence and allowed him to immediately go to the hospital.
The victims" family is forever grateful and cries every time they speak with Shaun. If he had not stopped to help, this father and son would most likely not have survived the fire. As amazing as this story is it is not the first time Shaun has saved a life.
Last July, Shaun went scuba diving with another couple. At approximately 30 feet down the woman he was diving with struck a rock, which pulled out her mouthpiece. She was unable to reach for it and began to drown. Shaun was able to bring her to the surface and perform CPR on the beach. "She was blue by the time I got her to the surface and her husband was still on the beach getting his gear on," said Shaun. Quick thinking and his knowledge of CPR allowed Shaun to save his friend from drowning.
Even though Shaun is truly a hero in everyone's eyes, he remains humble and gracious when speaking about his ordeals. He himself has once cheated death. He was involved in a construction accident in February 2002 when the site he was doing some plumbing work in collapsed on top of him and his partner. Tragically, his partner was killed in the accident. Shaun was buried up to his chest and then rescued.
Shaun believes he has some purpose in being here and cherishes every day he can spend with his young family. He is an absolute hero to his wife, Dawn, his 5 year old daughter, Rosalind, and 2 year old son, Shaun Michael.

A Supervisory Success
New England Institute of Technology graduate, Dan Gravel, did not want to move brown boxes for the rest of his life, and knew that he needed marketable skills and a college degree in order to succeed. Thus, he arrived at NEIT. Dan earned both an Associate degree in Computerized Business Management Technology and a Bachelor degree in Business Management Technology.
Once he obtained his BS degree, he began to circulate his resume, which fell into the hands of a contract recruiter for Staples, who was well aware of the skills NEIT graduates possess. Dan was offered a supervisory position, and after more than five years at Avery Dennison he left to pursue this new challenge at Staples, which ranks 152 on the Fortune 500 list. Staples is a $13 billion retailer of office supplies, business services, furniture and technology to consumers and businesses from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in North America and throughout Europe.
Currently, Dan is responsible for Staples' Northeast distribution center's inventory integrity, PC systems, and other support functions within the distribution center, located in Killingly, Connecticut. Dan oversees 18 associates including four department leaders across three shifts.
Dan credits the Computerized Business Management Technology program for the fundamentals that keep him ahead of the game. Such fundamentals include quick and accurate typing skills, software knowledge, interviewing skills, and teaching software, which he uses to train his associates to make their day-to-day jobs easier and more efficient.
Dan also took his basic business fundamentals from Computerized Business Management Technology and married them with the classes in the Business Management Technology program. Such classes like Sales, Marketing, Presentation Skills, Investments, and Entrepreneurship help him focus on the scope of his job and how to take aggressive, yet calculated business and personal risks.
"NEIT has an edge with its business program because the teachers are business professionals and often relate classroom lecture to real-life events. The classes are small and student focused and the lectures are more conversational than lecture," states Dan.