About Me

Qualifications

• 13 years competitive swimming experience
• 2 years of lifeguarding experience, including many hours of watching swim lessons
• 4 years of swim lesson experience including kids ages 3-15 and adults
• I can provide references on request

Background

I am a swim instructor from San Diego, California! Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I swam on the Rancho San Dieguito (RSD) swim team at the Solana Beach Boys & Girls Club. I also became a lifeguard at the same Boys & Girls Club, and received swim instructor training on the job. I went to Solana Beach Junior Lifeguards for several summers, and was a Junior Counselor at Outpost Summer Camps. I went to college at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and I am currently pursuing a career in marine conservation genetics. I currently swim with the Dan McKinney YMCA Masters team. I am passionate about water safety and inspiring a lifelong love of swimming, and my teaching style reflects that.

Teaching Philosophy

Water safety: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more children ages 1-4 die from drowning than any other cause of death, and drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5-14. I want kids to be able to rescue themselves if they fall into a pool, and to be able to play safely in the water! I teach water safety skills as well as pool rules to make safe, confident swimmers.

Lifelong swimmers: Swimming is a great form of exercise, especially for those of us lucky enough to live in San Diego, where we can have outdoor pools year-round! Swimming is low-impact and can be a fantastic exercise for those with mobility issues, especially knee issues. It works out every part of your body, and the water is a great place to exercise on a hot summer day when other workouts sound gross and sweaty. For all of these reasons, and because I love swimming so much myself, I want my students to walk away enjoying swimming and being confident enough to swim independently and get exercise that way. I prioritize comfort, confidence, and understanding why skills are important, so that swimmers will feel excited to go swimming on their own after I leave them. I do this by engaging in dialogue with students, reminding students how much progress they've made, and using a variety of exercises to build skills and confidence.