As school ends and summer begins, many students at WJ begin their summer jobs. Although there are a variety of choices students can choose from while looking for money or experience, a large portion of Wildcats choose to spend their summers as lifeguards.

During the summer, students are looking for both jobs and fun activities; lifeguarding can address both. Guards enjoy sunbathing, hanging out with the other guards and buying ice cream and shaved ice while on break or on a slow day when not every guard is needed up in the chairs.

“I love the Tilden Woods community of lifeguards,” senior Elizabeth Finn said. “We are all friends and get along pretty well and it’s super fun when all my closest friends work a slow shift together so we can goof around.”

To be lifeguard certified, students must be rising sophomores or older and go through the proper training. Training consists of proving you are a capable swimmer and learning to do proper saves for each hypothetical situation. This makes sure guards are prepared for whatever emergency that could happen. Along with saves, the guards are taught how to properly perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on adults and children, as well as using an automated external defibrillator, commonly known as AED training.

“The hardest part of the certification process was probably having to swim the [300 yards] or having to grab the brick from the bottom of the deep end,” sophomore Gabriela Martinez said. “Learning how to perform proper CPR is a really good life skill to know and I am glad I know how to perform it now properly.”

What students tend to like about this job is how relaxed and laid-back the schedule is. One guard sits in one chair for 15 minutes and then rotates to the next one for another 15 minutes, which is then followed by a break.

“At [Bethesda Country Club], it’s really nice because we only have to sit 15 minutes in each chair,” junior Elizabeth Tasikas said. “I like to get my tan in when I’m up in the chair and then get down on my break and relax and chill with my coworkers.”

What people tend to like most about this job is the staff they work with and the traditions they have with their coworkers. Many lifeguards work with other people they know from school, making guard traditions more fun.

“The Fourth of July is a really fun holiday for us because we get to play music while guarding,” senior Josh Koenick said. “The overall excitement of the Fourth of July is fun.”

Certified lifeguards gain a ton of hands-on experience and knowledge that can help them in the future, whether it’s learning how to be patient with children or knowing how to jump into action with quick thinking skills.

“Being exposed and learning how to not freak out in situations that can be stressful is a good skill I have learned,” Martinez said. “It’s also really helpful that I know how to perform CPR because that is a skill I can use in any possible situation.”