Summit County prosecutor also commends students for heroic act

Kent State University students Chris Cobham, a senior
mathematics major, and Samantha Phillips, a junior
athletic training major, received the Acts of Courage
Award from the American Red Cross of Summit and
Portage Counties for saving the life of a local high school
student at the Kent Student Center.

The American Red Cross of Summit and Portage Counties honored two Kent State University students with its Acts of Courage Award for saving the life of a local high school student at the Kent Student Center. Samantha Phillips, a junior athletic training major, and Essien Cobham, a senior mathematics major, received their awards at an event that took place at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn Hotel and Suites in Akron.

The American Red Cross Acts of Courage Award is presented to individuals who acted courageously in a time of emergency. The award recognizes individuals who acted in a heroic manner to avert tragedies and save lives.

Phillips and Cobham helped to resuscitate a visiting high school student after he fell to the floor unconscious from an undisclosed medical emergency. Both students happened to be in the right place at the right time, and they both had prior CPR certifications that gave them the skills and experience that they put into use on that day.

Phillips and Cobham also received commendation letters from Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh acknowledging their heroic efforts.

In her letter to both students, Bevan says, “Your ability to assess the situation and react so quickly deserves praise.”

“I think they are both very deserving of this recognition,” says Timeka Rashid, Ph.D., Kent State’s associate dean of students and director of the Kent Student Center and Center for Student Involvement. “Their actions exemplify the good in our current generation of college students.”

Phillips considers it an honor to be awarded the American Red Cross Acts of Courage Award. She adds that their action on that day was the right thing to do.

“It is extremely humbling,” Phillips says. “It means a tremendous amount to me that others want my actions to be honored and applauded. I stepped in to help on that day because it is my instinct, it's what I'm trained to do and what I am going to school for. I couldn't imagine where me, Chris or the student would be if we hadn't intervened that day.”

Cobham also is honored to have been chosen to receive the award.

“After hearing the truly amazing things the other recipients accomplished – putting their lives on the line and, in some cases, giving up their lives to save others – I am honestly quite surprised I was even selected to be in their company to begin with,” he says.

Cobham says that he is glad that he was able to help the student.

“I stepped in simply because I was available and trained in what to do,” Cobham says. “We keep rehashing the importance of being trained in performing CPR; if you know what needs to be done, you don’t have to think about whether or not to step in or what you’re supposed to do. You just react. I only did what was necessary, and I believe anyone else would have done the same in my position.”

Click here to read more about how Phillips and Cobham saved a life in the Kent Student Center.

For more information about the American Red Cross of Summit and Portage Counties, visit www.redcross.org/oh/akron.