{"id":2224,"date":"2022-06-05T23:17:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T23:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/career\/former-local-star-athlete-billy-vaughn-jr-is-heading-to-the-lafd\/"},"modified":"2022-06-05T23:17:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T23:17:44","slug":"former-local-star-athlete-billy-vaughn-jr-is-heading-to-the-lafd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/news\/career\/former-local-star-athlete-billy-vaughn-jr-is-heading-to-the-lafd\/","title":{"rendered":"Former local star athlete Billy Vaughn Jr. is heading to the LAFD"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Vaughn was a star athlete on Dorsey High School&rsquo;s football and track teams.&nbsp; Now he&rsquo;s starting a rewarding career as a firefighter.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Support_Standard_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"296\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The L.A. Standard Newspaper needs your support so that we can continue to create positive stories about Black communities. $20, $50, $100, $500, $1,000. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. -Jason Douglas Lewis, Owner\/Publisher. Donations can be made through Cash App <a href=\"https:\/\/cash.app\/$LAStandard\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/cash.app\/$LAStandard<\/a>, Venmo https:\/\/venmo.com @LA-Standard-Newspaper, PayPal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/paypalme\/lastandardnewspaper\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/paypalme\/lastandardnewspaper<\/a>, and GoFundMe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/support-blackowned-los-angeles-standard-newspaper<\/a>. Checks can be mailed to 2415 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>&nbsp;<\/figure>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DVG5sTaqaSI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">By Jason Lewis<br \/><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Billy Vaughn Jr. spent his childhood and early adult years suiting up for athletic competition.&nbsp; While at Dorsey High School, he played defensive back for the football team and he won the Los Angeles City Section championship in the 400-meter dash on the track team in 2013.&nbsp; He went on to play football at San Diego State.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-2222\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/boys400_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/boys400_web.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/boys400_web-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption><em><strong>Vaughn won the Los Angeles City Section track and field championship in the 400-meter dash in 2013 while running for Dorsey High School.<\/strong> <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>&nbsp;<\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Now that his playing career is over, Vaughn will be suiting up in a new uniform.&nbsp; He has been hired by the Los Angeles Fire Department, and he will be graduating this month.&nbsp; Through his two years of preparation to becoming a firefighter, he sees several parallels between his athletic career and being a member of the fire department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;They have so many things in common,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;The team aspect; the hard work; the daily grind of becoming something bigger than yourself; giving back to your home community.&nbsp; You represent not only yourself, not only your team, but the city.&nbsp; So it&rsquo;s a great way to serve my hometown and my people.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">When Vaughn started to look into a career with the fire department, he was looking for stability in his life, as his son was born in 2019.&nbsp; He applied to the fire department in February of 2020, which was when he joined the Stentorians of Los Angeles City, a non-profit community-based organization for African American firefighters.&nbsp; The organization shares a building on the corner of Vernon Avenue and Normandie Avenue with the Los Angeles County Stentorians.&nbsp;&nbsp; With the Stentorians, Vaughn received firefighting training as well as guidance through the hiring process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">After passing the firefighters candidate assessment written test, it became a waiting game for Vaughn.&nbsp; Instead of letting the idle time pass, he took a proactive approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;Being that there was so much time because you&rsquo;re waiting to be selected, I wanted to stay busy,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;So I came up here (Stentorians headquarters) volunteering, learning as much as I could.&nbsp; I earned my fire technology certificate.&nbsp; So I&rsquo;ve educated myself a good amount.&rdquo; &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Vaughn was selected for an interview in September of 2021.&nbsp; He took classes to obtain his Emergency Medical Technician certificate, and he obtained his Candidate Physical Ability Test certificate.&nbsp; After passing the background investigation and the medical and physic evaluation, he was offered a job.&nbsp; The next steps are the drill tower and then graduation. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Being a member of the Stentorians helped Vaughn a lot during his process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;They&rsquo;re amazing with hands on work,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;With ladders and hoses; with the culture of this specific department; the process.&nbsp; Many of the members of the Stentorians call and check on me.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-2223\" src=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/6S8R7622_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/6S8R7622_web.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/6S8R7622_web-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption><em><strong>Vaughn trains to be a firefighter at their headquarters on the corner of Vernon Avenue and Normandie Avenue.<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure>&nbsp;<\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While going through the two-year process to become hired, Vaughn worked various jobs.&nbsp; He had stints at Costco, as a security guard, and he&rsquo;s currently a lab technician in Calabasas. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;I had to support my son, but I also had to pursue my dreams and my goals,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;So it was tough days when I didn&rsquo;t get much sleep.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">There will be one final ritual that Vaughn will need to pass.&nbsp; At the graduation, there is what&rsquo;s called &ldquo;jumping for your badge,&rdquo; where the fire fighters jump from a five-story ledge on the fire tower. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to that,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp; &ldquo;At that point, you go through the whole tower, I&rsquo;ll go through that.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s cake.&nbsp; I&rsquo;ll do that more than once if I have to.&rdquo;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">For information about joining the Los Angeles City Fire Department, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.joinlafd.org\" target=\"_blank\">www.joinlafd.org<\/a>.&nbsp; For information about the Stentorians of Los Angeles City, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lacitystentorians.org\" target=\"_blank\">www.lacitystentorians.org<\/a>.&nbsp; For more information about the Stentorians of Los Angeles County, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lacountystentorians.org\" target=\"_blank\">www.lacountystentorians.org<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Vaughn was a star athlete on Dorsey High School&rsquo;s football and track teams.&nbsp; Now he&rsquo;s starting a rewarding career as a firefighter.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[169,170,93,2275,2272,168,167,161,82,525,173,218,2273,156,157,75,310,135,163,162,2274,102,526,223,158,160,159],"class_list":["post-2224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","tag-african-american","tag-african-american-newspaper","tag-baldwin-hills","tag-billy-vaughn-jr","tag-black-firefighters","tag-black-newspaper","tag-community-newspaper","tag-crenshaw","tag-dorsey-high-school","tag-firefighter","tag-football","tag-inglewood","tag-joinlafd","tag-ladera-heights","tag-leimert-park","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-fire-department","tag-los-angeles-standard-newspaper","tag-mid-city","tag-park-mesa-heights","tag-san-diego-state","tag-south-los-angeles","tag-stentorians","tag-track","tag-view-park","tag-west-adams","tag-windsor-hills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastandardnewspaper.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}