“I work as a lifeguard at the Bay Club gym near Pacific Commons. I don’t do too much while I’m sitting in the lifeguard chair, but I stay alert in case anything happens. If someone has a stroke or a heart attack in the water, I have to react quickly to rescue them. 

I have experienced maybe one or two incidents where I had to rescue someone. This was when I was practicing at the ocean for ocean lifeguarding. There was someone being carried away by a rip current. They didn’t understand that they had to swim parallel to the beach. I swam through and hooked them to my buoy as I swam out of the rip current. 

To be a lifeguard, you would need to be CPR/AED certified. You would also need a lifeguard certification. You also need to know how to swim, how to tread – essentially how to manipulate yourself in the water. This process, depending on your efficiency and skill, could take you typically 6 months. For me, it took me 4 months because I got my CPR/AED certification and was shortly after lifeguard certified. Employers would first interview you to see your resume. If your resume qualifies their expectations, they would bring you in and see how you react in an actual situation. 

I came across this position at my swim team where I am currently working. Many people there were lifeguards, so I decided I also wanted to be a lifeguard. I talked to some workers when I was 14, and they said they would hire me when I became of age and if my resume was good enough.

Some advice I would give to people looking for part time jobs is to first look through your skills and try to do something for the community. Do community service, such as helping out in a soup kitchen, to show your employers that you are a good person that they would like to have on their team.”