Guilford Exercise and Sport Sciences majors spent a day meeting with state legislators in Raleigh to present their findings on school cardiac preparedness.
What began as a statewide calling campaign ends in the halls of the legislature, where students translated research into urgency around cardiac emergency readiness.
“It was such a super-cool experience seeing the data we collected being put in front of the people who make decisions. “Being able to see the fruition of our hard work, knowing it’s being put to work made it all worthwhile.”
After months of research, a team of Guilford undergraduates brings real-world findings on school cardiac preparedness to North Carolina lawmakers.
After months of calling North Carolina public schools and gathering data, a group of Guilford College students presented their findings Wednesday to lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly, making the case, in real time, for a bill that could reshape how schools respond to cardiac emergencies.
The students – Grayson Hale ’26, Juliana Walter ’26, Ben Finkelstein ’26, Danny Santos, Micah Wilson ’28 and Abigail Whelan ’27 – were in Raleigh to support Senate Bill 278, also known as the Smart Heart Act.
If the measure becomes law, schools would have to create and update a plan every year for handling cardiac emergencies, including who responds and how they’re alerted, and make sure key staff are trained in CPR and using automated external defibrillators (AED). They also would have to run drills, coordinate with local emergency services and follow statewide rules for installing and maintaining AED.
On April 29 students roamed the floors of both chambers in Raleigh, informing lawmakers of their findings. What set them apart wasn’t just their presence – it was their data. Over the course of four months, they built the most current snapshot of AED access and readiness across North Carolina schools.
The project began when officials from the American Heart Association reached out to Guilford Professor for Sports Medicine Craig Eilbacher with a problem. Lawmakers were asking for updated data to evaluate the measure but the association didn’t have the capacity to collect it statewide.
Craig had previously researched AED in state schools years back, but the project faded. When officials from the association contacted Craig last fall, they asked if he had the capacity to update his work.
“I told them not only could I help out but I had a team of students who I know would be interested in jumping in and helping,” Craig recalls.
The students, all Exercise and Sport Sciences majors, divided up a list of roughly 2,600 schools in the state and started calling. They asked detailed questions: Did the school have an AED? How many? Where were they located? Were staff trained to use them? Did the school have a CERP – Cardiac Emergency Response Plan – in place with staff who were knowledgeable about it?
The findings offered both reassurance and a clear mandate, Grayson said.
“It was such a super-cool experience seeing the data we collected being put in front of the people who make decisions,” says Grayson, who graduates on Saturday, May 9, and wants to attend medical school next year. “Being able to see the fruition of our hard work, knowing it’s being put to work made it all worthwhile.”
Grayson said about 99 percent of the schools he and his classmates contacted had AEDs.
That’s the good news.
Their findings determined the deeper issue – the one driving the legislation – was preparedness. Training varied widely. Emergency response plans weren’t universal. And in the moments that matter most, those gaps can be critical.
Among the 530 schools with detailed responses, 37 reported using an AED in the past five years.
“That’s significant,” Craig says. “It shows these events are happening. The question is: are we ready when they do?”
That question followed the students through the legislative building as they knocked on doors, delivered quick pitches, and adjusted on the fly. Some took the lead, distilling months of work into a few clear points. Others jumped in to answer questions or add context.
All the while Craig stayed in the background.
“It was never meant [for the students] to be passive,” Craig says. “I told them from the beginning, ‘you’re going to be part of this. You’re going to have an opportunity to help make change.’”
The Smart Heart Act includes a proposed $2 million allocation to help schools purchase or maintain AED, though it could pass without that funding. It also emphasizes practical changes like ensuring AED are within a three-minute walk anywhere on campus and increasing the number of trained staff.
For the students, the experience offered something just as valuable as the data they presented: a firsthand look at how policy takes shape.
“I think they got a snapshot of how legislation actually works,” Craig says. “It’s not always formal. Sometimes it’s just showing up, having something meaningful to say, and being ready when the door opens.”