An Essay About Being A Lifeguard

There’s a story that I always tell people about when I talk about how much I love helping people. As a kid, I have always wanted to be a superhero. Of course, every kid wanted that too, but I feel like I always took it more seriously than others. The story that I tell is when I saved my little sister’s life. It was a day at the pool, and we were so little even I did not know how to swim yet. Our caregiver was not watching and my little sister fell in the pool, I immediately dove in forgetting that I could not swim either, but that did not stop me. I think I was around 4 years old, I grabbed my sister and pushed her above my head so that she could breathe, while I was nearly drowning underneath her. Finally, our caregiver jumped in and saved the both of us,

The world is full of heroes. The brave men and women who serve in the armed forces protect the United States of America. Local police help ensure safety in cities and towns. Firefighters save lives daily. Doctors perform life-saving surgeries. Heroes are found everywhere. Although some people seem to forget, lifeguards are heroes too. I recently sent in an application to be a lifeguard at the pool on campus. I was discussing hours with a classmate who is currently employed, and he told me that the hours were long, but often a shift would pass without a single swimmer entering the water. Another classmate interjected saying “You can do your homework while you work.” Lifeguarding is not the easy task portrayed in movies. Guards do not suntan and talk to girls for the duration of their shift. Rather, a lifeguard’s duty is in the name: guarding the lives of patrons. The work of these heroes is often gone unpraised. The job is disregarded as an easy way for teenagers to make money, instead of the true challenge it offers to the employees. The process of becoming a lifeguard requires more than blowing a whistle. It is a commitment involving intricate knowledge acquired through training and experience. Lifeguarding is a serious commitment.

My story begins on the boy's varsity swim team for Hilton High School. Before beginning the season I had taken a two-year break, so I was quite rusty and out of shape. At the beginning of the season, I had a hard time getting breathing patterns back and making sure my technique was good. I would be negative and tell myself that I could not do it or I would tell myself that I was too fat to be a swimmer and I should just give up. But every day I seemed to walk through the pool doors to begin another day of practice. The first meet of

Sometimes an individual shuts down emotionally in an attempt deal with hardships in their own life, but may find better coping methods through unexpected friends. In Barbara Scott's Story, “Lifeguard” the character struggles to deal with hardships in his life in a variety of ways. Eventually he is able to open up and find healing from his bottled up emotions though a young boy who is going through his own tragedy. One way the main character Chris deals with his hardships in life by shutting people out.

In 1990, Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web, since then a huge uprising in technology and social media has allowed us and others to invade the privacy of one another. Due to this massive growth, social media became widespread in today’s society, allowing easy access to people’s private information. Sadly, this information may be the reason someone is looked over after a job interview, because employers go through social media to evaluate a potential employee’s behavior. Is it a good thing for an employer to invade the privacy of a current or future employee, as a tool to evaluate ones character?

In all rescue situations, the lifeguard recognizes an emergency in the water, activates the emergency action plan

The July I spent working for my grandpa in his shop last summer, has a had a much larger effect on me than I had anticipated. It taught me responsibility, independence, and strengthened my work ethic considerably. I was an assistant at Everett Vacuum, which meant cleaning, organizing, and restocking shelves. It was a great experience for me, and I believe it was a big help to my grandpa.

On a typical Friday night, most of my peers are hanging out with friends, out partying or even staying home to do homework. My Friday nights aren’t quite like that. My typical Friday night could include a car accident, a cardiac arrest, and an overdose all within one twelve hour period. After I realized I could become more active and make a difference in my community, I decided to join the Thurmont Ambulance Company once I turned 16. In this organization, I respond to emergency and non-emergency medical and fire calls, participate in public safety education nights, and work fundraisers to help fund our services. This past year, I volunteered 462.5 duty hours and responded to 55 ambulance calls. The opportunities I have been offered because of this organization are amazing. I am now a certified Hazardous Materials responder and have learned basic knowledge on the use of foam for firefighting through my Protective Envelope and Foam Certification.

When I entered the workforce at 16, there weren’t many high paying jobs available for someone with absolutely no previous work experience. The only job available for me was in the fast food industry, so my first job was at TacoBell. Working at TacoBell, exposed me to my very first management style.

As a tenth-grade student, I started my profession in Emergency Medicine at a local Community College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Consequently, I volunteered in my local community as a new EMT and was exposed to some of the finest mentors one could ask for. After graduating high school, I joined the United States Marine Corps and completed a three-year enlistment without event and returned to civilian life. I immediately returned to Emergency Medicine as a paid employee and advanced my certification up to Paramedic and then became a Flight Paramedic in the early 1990’s. I was considered the employee who had the passion to keep learning and enjoyed sharing the information with others. Through constantly

What learning experiences have had the most influence on your own personal development as a leader?

I am a senior/potential first year grad student. I spend a lot of time lifeguarding at the Campus Recreation Center and the YMCA. My hometown is in Sterling, Illinois, where there is a lot of banks, bars, churches and parking lots. Growing up, I lived with my mother, father and older brother that graduated from Western Illinois University. I currently attend The Crossing church in Macomb, Illinois, where I was a village leader for our college ministry. Early mornings are the worst thing in the world in my mind, but I want to change that by starting to exercise before my classes. An interesting fact about me is that I can't run straight on a treadmill. I am unaware of the reason why I can’t do it I just blame the accident I had as young child

Beaches all over the world have no rules what would happen if people got injured or trashed the beach. If there are no rules then people could be ruining your quiet time at the beach.

In late October of 2016 I was contacted by the Aquatics Director about upcoming lifeguard classes. I was very nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because being a lifeguard meant that I had a huge responsibility and I couldn’t take the job lightly. I was also excited because I’d have a job and I could be making money. After some speculation with my parents, we decided that getting a job would be a great way of gaining responsibility.

When I entered the workforce at 16, there weren’t many high paying jobs available for someone with absolutely no previous work experience. The only job available for me was in the fast food industry, so my first job was at TacoBell. Working at TacoBell, exposed me to my very first management style.