Most people want to make a splash in life. Benjamin Summers has done that both literally and figuratively.
Summers, a 2018 Yorkville High School graduate, chose to go to Waubonsee Community College, in part, because he wanted to continue working as a head lifeguard at the Vaughan Aquatic Center with the Fox Valley Park District, a position he has held since the summer of 2015. That ability to work while going to school paid off in March 2019 when he received the International Golden Guard Safety Award from Jeff Ellis & Associates, Inc., a firm, according to its website, that is “dedicated to the prevention and elimination of drowning.”
According to Joe Stafanyak, a senior director at Ellis, less than 1 percent of all evaluated lifeguards receive the Golden Guard award. Ellis evaluates roughly 40,000 worldwide.
Summers happened to be the lifeguard supervisor on duty when representatives from Jeff Ellis & Associates came to the pool for an unannounced safety audit. As the supervisor, Summers’ job was to oversee his teams’ execution of the tasks required by the audit. That obviously went very well.
“I was able to lead the team to go above and beyond the standards and exceeded the expectations of the audit,” said Summers.
Before this audit, Summers had been responsible for the training of the lifeguards so he knew their skills and capabilities and was able to ensure success in the audit.
As a result of this, Summers earned a plaque, promotion and additional hours to work at the pool.
In addition to making a splash in the pool and in the lifeguard industry, Summers is working on his plan to make a splash outside of the pool. He chose to attend Waubonsee out of high school because “Waubonsee offered me an affordable way to take my general education courses that I know will likely transfer to any university.”
Summers has not declared a major yet but is considering studying health, physical education and recreation or business administration.
“At Waubonsee, I am able to explore classes with little or no downside. It is all right to experiment with classes without having a large expense,” said Summers.
Though he does not know exactly what college he will transfer to after he finishes at Waubonsee, he knows the value of attending a community college.
“It is convenient, affordable and close to home so there’s not a requirement to pay room and board. Also, if a person has a job, it gives you the ability to continue to work and go to school making college even more affordable.”
Summers was recognized by the college’s board of trustees at its May meeting as a Student Success: Featured Student.
