Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
Swim lessons that save lives: Celine’s impact at the YMCA
15 October 2018 - by Nicole Meredith
Lifeguarding sometimes gets stereotyped as a summer job for teens. Celine — Aquatics Supervisor at the Mississauga Burnhamthorpe Rd YMCA — is here to tell you why working in aquatics means so much more.
About 6 or 7 years ago, one of the kids in my swim lessons was just plain terrified of the water. He was really shy and couldn’t get comfortable. We kept working away at it, and slowly, he started building confidence. He learned the basics and started moving up the levels, out of my class. About a year went by, and then I saw him again — this time, with a different, much more mild hesitation around the water. His mother shared with me that, on a recent vacation, he’d been in a river with his friend and experienced a near-drowning. She was so grateful for the time we took to teach him how to swim and said it was thanks to his lessons that he was able to save himself during the incident.
It’s moments like these that define my job. I still get to see this child around the Y and he reminds me how much we can make an impact in people’s lives.
It means a lot to me that my work is truly important — that I get to help save lives and teach people the importance of healthy activities. But my job also continually challenges me. It tests my creativity and determination and helps me build my skills. As a supervisor, I’ve seen just how many opportunities open up to you when you work or volunteer at the Y. It doesn’t end with lifeguarding and swim instructing. Staff can branch off to teach AquaFit, First Aid courses, Swim Club, and so much more. And there are plenty of opportunities for leadership — both on the aquatics team and other teams here at the Y.
But the best part of my job is the community. Members, volunteers, colleagues — they’ve all become part of my Y family. And my Y has become my second home. It’s a place where we work together, where we hang out, where we work out together, and where we challenge each other to be better. It’s a place where we make friends that last a lifetime.
The relationships we build here extend beyond our co-workers. You really get to know the members, and you watch them grow and go through different stages of life. Whether it’s watching one of your preschool swimmers start first grade, or celebrating the birth of a lane swimmer’s first grandchild, you get to be part of it.
Interested in joining the Y family and helping a charity thrive? Apply to work as a lifeguard and swim instructor today.
About 6 or 7 years ago, one of the kids in my swim lessons was just plain terrified of the water. He was really shy and couldn’t get comfortable. We kept working away at it, and slowly, he started building confidence. He learned the basics and started moving up the levels, out of my class. About a year went by, and then I saw him again — this time, with a different, much more mild hesitation around the water. His mother shared with me that, on a recent vacation, he’d been in a river with his friend and experienced a near-drowning. She was so grateful for the time we took to teach him how to swim and said it was thanks to his lessons that he was able to save himself during the incident.
It’s moments like these that define my job. I still get to see this child around the Y and he reminds me how much we can make an impact in people’s lives.
It means a lot to me that my work is truly important — that I get to help save lives and teach people the importance of healthy activities. But my job also continually challenges me. It tests my creativity and determination and helps me build my skills. As a supervisor, I’ve seen just how many opportunities open up to you when you work or volunteer at the Y. It doesn’t end with lifeguarding and swim instructing. Staff can branch off to teach AquaFit, First Aid courses, Swim Club, and so much more. And there are plenty of opportunities for leadership — both on the aquatics team and other teams here at the Y.
But the best part of my job is the community. Members, volunteers, colleagues — they’ve all become part of my Y family. And my Y has become my second home. It’s a place where we work together, where we hang out, where we work out together, and where we challenge each other to be better. It’s a place where we make friends that last a lifetime.
The relationships we build here extend beyond our co-workers. You really get to know the members, and you watch them grow and go through different stages of life. Whether it’s watching one of your preschool swimmers start first grade, or celebrating the birth of a lane swimmer’s first grandchild, you get to be part of it.
Interested in joining the Y family and helping a charity thrive? Apply to work as a lifeguard and swim instructor today.
