Kelsey Watson knew from a young age that she only wanted to be a police officer. Still, when she had the chance to earn a medical certificate in field delivery - emergency childbirth outside of a hospital - while studying criminal justice in college, Watson figured, why not?

 What's a couple hours in class when you can be prepared for something like that?  she said.

It didn't take long for that decision to pay off with a happy and healthy ending for a young family in Grayslake, an historic village about 40 miles north of Chicago.

Three days out of the police academy and about halfway through her very first shift as a Grayslake police officer, Watson delivered Ellowyn Bong-Dinovo into the world on Aug. 18.

Ellowyn's mom, Lauren, had been at the hospital Aug. 17, but was told to go home until her labor was further along. Her water broke around midnight, and it quickly became clear Ellowyn wasn't waiting for a hospital room.

 I didn't want to deliver at home, but there literally was no choice,  Bong-Dinovo said Thursday.

When the emergency call came across the radio at 12:37 a.m. Aug. 18, Watson and her field training officer, Joe Semple, were on patrol nearby. They headed to the home, thinking they'd just be there to assist the paramedics also en route.

On the way, Watson casually mentioned her training in field delivery, so Semple handed her a pair of latex gloves just in case.

What they didn't know at the time was that the ambulance crew was stuck behind a train on the wrong side of a rail crossing. And when the officers arrived first, there was no time to wait.

 When we got there, the dad (Michael Dinovo) was outside, and he yells,  She's inside, and she's giving birth,'  Watson recalled.

Inside the home, Ellowyn's grandmother directed the officers to an upstairs bathroom, where they found Lauren on the floor and her baby on the way.

As she tucked one gloved hand under Ellowyn's neck to give her support and another on her head to guide her out, Watson didn't have time to consider the unexpected turn her first day on the job had taken.

 My thoughts were just on the mom and the

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