Ryan Pitts doesn’t get a lot of sleep.

When he’s not at work, teaching, with his six children or working as a paramedic, he takes classes at Flathead Valley Community College to achieve his goal of becoming a registered nurse.

What little free time he gets is spent volunteering at fire departments. For his efforts in this last category, Pitts was selected as one of 2014’s Newman Civic Fellows. He was one of 197 selected nationwide and one of just eight in Montana.

The award recognizes service and public advocacy but doesn’t come with a financial reward for his studies. Pitts is fine with that.

“I just find that providing care for someone who is extremely vulnerable, that has a huge amount of reward,” he said. “I’ll be in the grocery store and someone will come up to give me a hug and say thank you. I may have helped them just the week before.”

Pitts, an Arizona native who has lived in the Flathead since he was 12, said his goal is to get his nursing degree and end up in the ALERT helicopter or in the hospital emergency room.

You might think a man with six children from 1 year to 13 years old would want a little less action at work.

“It’s insane,” Pitts said of his schedule. “My wife is extremely supportive of me, which is why I’m able to do this.”

His wife of 15 years, Theresa, runs the house while Ryan does his thing.

Pitts, at 38, found the time to sit down for an interview only after a 24-hour shift at Evergreen Fire Rescue and his morning classes.

He also teaches 10 credits’ worth of courses at FVCC, with students benefiting from his hands-on experience in the field.

But it wasn’t always this way for Pitts.

“I did construction to pay the bills,” he said. “Until 2008 the fire/emergency was volunteer only. But then the economy tanked and I realized I needed to do something more. Building houses was just a job, it wasn’t what I was passionate about.”

The opportunities he said FVCC has provided him have launched him quickly along his career path, and he plans to have his practical nursing degree this spring.

“I’m so grateful to have the college here,” he said. “I have roots here, I couldn’t move, so this is a great resource. Without this support network here I’m not sure what I could have done.”

Part of this support comes from Wendy Jeschke, the FVCC Service Learning Coordinator, who helps 78 AmeriCorps volunteers at the college spend time bettering the community.

“They help us to enrich lives through civic duty,” she said. “Ryan has been an AmeriCorps member for a while. He is finishing up his third term.”

Jeschke said above all else, Pitts is an excellent time manager.

At the college, AmeriCorps students tend to be in health fields and education. Pitts spends time with them and has spent countless hours volunteering with his skilled crews at Evergreen and West Valley fire departments. For him, it’s all a matter of helping the people around him.

“For me and EMS and medical, my bottom line — my mantra — is that I want every student to advocate for the people we are caring for,” Pitts said. “The thing about health care is it used to be more personal. Now it’s more of a bureaucracy. It’s so important to remember we are doing this for the patients.”

FVCC plans to honor Pitts during the college’s volunteer week in early April.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.