HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — An Alabama front desk associate is wearing a new badge these days after she made a split-second decision that saved a child’s life.

Meaghan Brown works at the front desk in the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Homewood. On Dec. 12, she said while she was working, she heard screaming coming from the pool area.

“I came around and I saw them banging on the glass,” Brown said. “I ran down the hallway and when I got to the pool door, I saw a girl at the bottom of the pool… and I just jumped in and grabbed her.”

When the two broke the surface, Brown noticed the little girl was not breathing. That is when she applied CPR and patted her back until she started breathing again.

Brown’s heroic actions caught the attention of Hilton’s corporate offices who met to recognize her via Zoom.

“We all hope that if we ever got put in a position like you got put in, that we would react with the courage, the fortitude and the speed in which you reacted to that situation,” said Keith Clampet.

Brown was able to hug the little girl after she regained consciousness and said she was able to ask her if she was OK. Brown said she learned to swim between the years of fourth and sixth grade and learned CPR in high school.

Managers at the hotel said she earned the title ‘hero’ after her courageous actions.

Brown is also a mother and is studying criminal justice in school.