Meet Me Monday: Keith spends summers as Parks and Rec lifeguard

Fun in the sun isn’t always a guarantee.

While lifeguarding is an appealing summer job for some young adults, those who land the gig must refrain from amusing distractions to save lives — when necessary.

Anna Keith, a rising junior at ECU, is entering her third year as lifeguard with the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Department, her summer job. She said it’s tempting to be surrounded by swimming children and not join the fun.

“You can’t play around, as much as you want to,” said the 20-year-old Keith. “We just have to trust each other to be watching all the time.”

Keith said guards review lifesaving techniques every two weeks to stay above the surface with possible liabilities associated with the job. Someone can pass out because of extreme temperatures or a child may jump into the deep end of the pool.

“There are definitely some downfalls to it,” Keith said, “but there are downfalls to every job.”

Her father, Earl, works for Parks and Recreation, which is how she learned about the position. The Kinston High School graduate has always been active in softball, volleyball and dancing. She’s been swimming since a very young age.

Keith attended Pitt Community College two years following high school and will transfer to ECU in the fall. She hasn’t nailed down one degree program to pursue, but she’s eyeing a possible career in cardiac rehabilitation.

So far, she’s enjoyed many of her psychology and anatomy classes, which have been much larger than in high school.

“At Kinston High, you knew everybody,” said Keith, who’s noted the variety of people on a college campus. “Then you go to college, and it’s big.”

While in school, she babysits for a family.

“I really like kids,” said Keith, who is often surrounded by splashing, screaming children at the Emma Webb Park pool.

She worked at the Woodmen Community Center and lifeguards were stationed at different areas once pools around the county began opening. Guards monitor their post while on duty and rotate throughout the shift.

While Keith and the lifeguard gang may want to dive in and join in the pool action, they have to earn the trust of parents who allow their children in the water.

“You have to enforce the rules,” Keith said. “Sometimes it’s hard to do that, but if something happens, you want to let the parents know you have it taken care of, you’re watching and doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Unless Keith earns an internship in the next summer, she will return to Kinston as a lifeguard in 2014.

“It’s a fun summer job,” she said. “You get to be in the sun, get a tan and hang out on the water with different people.”

Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.

BREAKOUT BOX:

Meet Me Monday

Name: Anna Keith

Age: 20

Hometown: Kinston

Fun fact: Her favorite restaurant is Pizza Villa.