Emmaleigh Clark, a BSN student at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, was recently awarded the National Certificate of Merit by the National Court of Honor of Scouting America. This national award is presented to those who perform exceptional acts of heroism, skill or bravery that reflect the highest ideals of Scouting, and Clark’s story is exactly that.
During the summer of 2023, after her freshman year, while leading a group of Scouts on a two-week backpacking expedition at Philmont Scout Ranch, Clark encountered a life-threatening emergency. On the second-to-last day of the trek, a man came running down the trail, urgently asking for aspirin. Emmaleigh immediately recognized the signs of a potential heart attack—thanks to research she had done on wilderness nursing—and rushed to help.
When she arrived, she found a man lying on the ground in distress. Clark obtained his medical history, made sure he took aspirin 90 minutes to reach them.
In the meantime, taking advantage of everything around her, Clark monitored the man’s vitals using Apple Watches and manually checked his pulse, which she found to be irregular. When he showed signs of going into shock, she improvised with supplies on hand: she covered him with sleeping bags, propped up his legs using a backpack, and created a shade with a tarp. Her calm, swift response stabilized the situation until EMS arrived.
Clark described the moment as one of the most traumatic not only for the man having a heart attack but also for her.
“I’ve never had to watch someone say goodbye to their daughter, to their wife, thinking he wouldn’t make it,” she said. “Thankfully, he survived and is doing well.”
National awards for lifesaving and meritorious action are reserved for exceptional and extraordinary acts that exemplify remarkable heroism, skill, or bravery—actions that truly embody the highest ideals of Scouting.
“It’s a huge honor to receive the award,” Clark said. “Knowing that the steps I took during that situation were small, it made a huge difference. It helped me realize that no matter how small the action is, I know that what I do as a nurse will help people. I think about experience even now when I’m in the hospital, and I make sure patients have everything they need. I never thought the actions of helping someone would lead to something so big.”
This experience, and her role in it, solidified her passion for nursing.
“I knew I was on the right path,” she concluded. “This experience confirmed it.”