A Boston firefighter defines what it means to dedicate one's life to service.

Michael Lydon has been a member of the Boston Fire Department since 2014. These days, there are extra responsibilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We clean the firehouse three times a day," Lydon said. "On any call that involves COVID-19 or (a person) suspected (of having) COVID-19, we have all the [personal protective equipment] that we need."

Lydon, 35, is a member of the U.S. Army Reserves, enlisting after Sept. 11, 2001, and has served the country since 2002.

"Both my parents were immigrants from Ireland. I kind of really felt strongly in the value that the United States has," he said.

A deployment to Iraq interrupted an earlier effort to finish college, but Lydon is currently a student at Endicott College. He was motivated to return to school after his mother died 2 1/2 years ago.

"I kind of made a commitment to myself that I would finish college and get it done," Lydon said. "The fall semester, I got a 3.9 [grade point average]."

Lydon is set to graduate this year and he will be the first in his family to become a college graduate. This past semester, he was asked by Endicott College to serve as a liaison between students and administrators.

Dr. Laura Douglass, the dean of Endicott's Van Loan School, is impressed by how Lydon manages to succeed at school while serving as a firefighter and an Army reservist, which has forced him to miss classes.

"That's really difficult, to be deployed for two weeks of a class," Douglass said. "The other thing I would say about Michael is he's wonderful about developing community."

Boston Fire Commissioner John Dempsey said members of the department have received extra training because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, there are no more communal meals at fire stations and vacations for firefighters are limited to ensure that stations are properly staffed.

Dempsey said Lydon is one standout among many in the Boston Fire Department who split time between two jobs and school.

"Not only are they doing both jobs, but they're going to school at night, they're taking care of their families," Dempsey said. "These are pretty highly-motivated people."

Lydon said he is motivated by his parents, his wife, his young son and the members of his family who are helping and serving others during the pandemic.

"I have a cousin who is a nurse at [Massachusetts General Hospital], unsung heroes out there. My little brother, Sean, he works at the Stop & Shop at South Bay," Lydon said. "He's been going to work every day and trying to get people the food that they need. It's really been amazing to watch how people have come together."

Lydon has been awarded two commendations by the Boston Fire Department. He's a first sergeant with the 94th Military Police Company in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and is studying criminal justice at Endicott College.