Junior Abigail Kuang: Rinconada Lifeguard
If you visit the Rinconada Pool on a Saturday afternoon, you can find junior Abigail Kuang supervising swimmers, negotiating with tough customers and occasionally saving someone鈥檚 life.
As a member of Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics for almost ten years, Kuang wanted to become a lifeguard to gain valuable life skills. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good to learn responsibility and money management early on,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a solid way to pass time while making money.鈥
Kuang works five-and-a-half-hour shifts on Saturdays. 鈥淥ccasionally, I鈥檒l work on a Sunday if someone needs to be filled in,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut during the school year, it鈥檚 not too bad of a commitment.鈥
Lifeguarding requires Kuang to interact with a variety of people, allowing her to develop strong interpersonal skills. 鈥淚鈥檝e had so many customers yell at me for things I couldn鈥檛 control,鈥 Kuang said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot about learning how to serve difficult people.鈥
Kuang recalls the time she helped care for a teammate who had an asthma attack. 鈥淗is friend came up to me after and said he was really grateful for what I did,鈥 Kuang said. 鈥淚t was a touching experience.鈥
For students interested in getting a job, Kuang recommends researching different job fields. 鈥淒on鈥檛 restrict yourself to what everyone else is doing, and make sure you are willing to commit to it,鈥 she said. 鈥淲ith lifeguarding, you can tell who鈥檚 there to do it and who鈥檚 just there because they thought it would be an easy way to tan and get paid for it.鈥