July 11, 2025
Oakland University student Maja Nikolovski was awarded a 2025 Carl Parsell Scholarship, which will help her complete her bachelor’s degree in clinical and diagnostic sciences and pursue her dream of becoming an emergency medicine physician.
The Carl Parsell Scholarship Fund was established in 1991 to continue the legacy of Parsell, a law enforcement union movement pioneer, improving the futures of others through education. Scholarships are awarded to union members and Michigan family members of Michigan Association of Fire Fighters (MAFF), Michigan Association of Police (MAP) and Michigan Association of Public Employees (MAPE).
Nikolovski, a MAFF member and Bruce Township fire fighter and emergency medical technician, was awarded one of two $2,500 Carl Parsell Scholarships. The scholars were recognized during the 35th Annual Carl Parsell Memorial Golf Outing held in June.
“In hopes of becoming a future doctor, the Carl Parsell Scholarship will greatly assist me financially in pursuing my goals, and continuing to give back to the community that has helped deepen my love for the healthcare field,” she wrote in her scholarship application.
Nikolovski earned her EMT license shortly after graduating from Romeo High School in 2022.
“While earning my EMT license, I shadowed EMTs and paramedics at Bruce Township Fire Department, as well as physicians and nurses at St. John Main Hospital for a total of 150 clinical hours,” she said. “In a level 1 trauma center, I shadowed emergency medical Physicians, trauma physicians and cardiologists.”
While attending Oakland University full time, she earned her fire fighter license at Northeast Oakland Fire Academy. She was hired as a part-time Bruce Township fire fighter and EMT in August 2022 and has recently been working full time, filling in for an EMT crew member on leave.
The 21-year-old expanded her medical knowledge as a volunteer at Team Rehabilitation Physical Therapy in Washington Township in 2021. Since March 2024, she has been job shadowing ER physicians.
“During my junior year at Oakland University, I began shadowing Emergency Medical Physicians at Troy Beaumont Hospital,” Nikolovski wrote. “Shadowing allowed me to experience the other side of patient care once they reached the hospital. This allowed me to see both the exciting, and occasionally chaotic, shifts that these physicians are faced with.”
The Bruce Township Fire Fighter teaches fire safety and prevention to local elementary students. As a community CPR and first aid assistant instructor, Nikolovski provides lifesaving education to community members, business owners, and Romeo Police Department. Since September 2024, she’s shared her EMT experience as a Romeo High School EMT course volunteer, training EMT students in the same high school program she completed.
“I truly enjoy watching students learn these skills in class and love hearing that they, too, hope to give back to the community in which they grew up,” she said.
A volunteer with the American Lung Association – Fight for Air Stair Climb fundraiser in May 2024 and May 2025, she climbed over 2,000 stairs dressed in full fire gear. She also provided Christmas gifts to needy families in late 2024.
“I was one of the many firefighters that were able to shop for Romeo students and their families,” she wrote. “My favorite part was hand delivering every carefully wrapped present to the excited children who had the biggest smiles on their faces when they received their gifts.”
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