Joseph Hawes

- Experience gained: Customer service, professionalism, communication, and lifesaving skills. This is a job that I have held as of the Fall of 2016. While the primary purpose was to hold me over in between internships, I have further benefitted from the additional networking. I also use it to keep my guarding skills sharp should I continue involvement with environments such as this one and previous YMCAs.

Experience gained: Professionalism, responsibility, multi-cultural sensitivity, customer service, life saving skills, performance under presssure, interpersonal communication, scheduling, budgeting, payroll, using appropriate disciplinary action, and how to appease multiple parties while still accomplishing my job. I started out as a Lifeguard, and did my best to go the extra mile from picking up extra shifts to scrubbing the floor on breaks. For this and other conduct I was promoted to "Headguard" within 6 months. As a Headguard, I was responsible for the guards on duty and their conduct, as well as any concerns from patrons. Throughout this time I developed interpersonal relation, communication, teamwork, leadership, and managerial skills. In the summer of 2016 there was an opening for "Aquatics Director." That position oversaw everything to from the guarding, swim lessons, fitness classes, and all resources/logistics therein. They needed someone to fill in while they searched for a replacement, and so made me "Interim Aquatics Coordinator." In this role, I was charged with overseeing all operations in the department from scheduling to training. It gave me invaluable managerial experience at the age of nineteen. There were 35-45 employees in the department at the time, several individual schedules that needed filling, audits to satisfy, trainings to hold, employees to hire, and programs to develop or tweak. To date, it is my single most beneficial position as far as experience rendered. I would like to make two notes. I am still technically on the list of "College Guards." However, given my position I am only able to pick up occasional shift on holidays. Secondly, without the incredible staff and supportive managers that I was blessed with, this position could have gone a very different way. The managers helped my through the learning processes just as my staff rallied to me when schedules needed filling. My most heartfelt thank you to you all.