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City aquatics staff recount decades of swim instruction, stress life‑saving value
Summary
A San Diego City aquatics staff member with 32 years of service said city swim lessons and lifeguarding create life‑saving skills, job pathways and intergenerational benefits, citing Vista Terrace pool in San Ysidro.
A longtime San Diego City aquatics staff member said city swim lessons saved lives and opened jobs and opportunities across generations.
The staff member said they learned to swim at about 8 through a city pool program, became a lifeguard at 15 and has been a city employee for 32 years. "It's a life saving skill," the speaker said, adding that swim instruction also "opens up so many more opportunities" including employment in pool management. The speaker noted teaching multiple generations, saying they once taught a person who later became a supervisor and that one of the most gratifying moments was teaching the speaker's mother to swim.
The speaker cited Vista Terrace swimming pool in San Ysidro as their first job and said current pool programs can reach multiple generations and help parents and grandparents engage with children. The remarks emphasized access and opportunity, noting historical exclusions from pools and framing swim instruction as a necessity rather than a privilege.
These comments were delivered as part of staff presentations on city services.
