Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio with over 20 cousins, I was always surrounded by kids, family and water! I joined the neighborhood swim team starting in 1st grade and summers were filled with frequent trips to our family lake house in Kentucky. Through my college and adult years, I continued to swim regularly. To this day, swimming is one of my preferred forms of exercise and stress reliever!
I moved to Charleston, SC in 1999 and graduated from the College of Charleston with a business degree. I spent a lot of time at the beach and worked as a nanny/babysitter for over 15 years. In addition, I built a career in the hospitality industry and became a Director of Group Sales for several luxury boutique properties in the Caribbean and US over the last 22 years.
In the summer of 2020, I took my 2 and 4 year old to a local pool. While sitting on the edge talking to my sister, I noticed my 4 year-old daughter Helen, standing underwater at the bottom of the pool, helpless. She had walked down the steps without her life jacket. I was 5 feet away and she could have potentially drowned had I not turned around. It was only seconds; however, it was a completely silent moment and no one saw or heard her. I was not only furious at myself, but also frustrated that she didn’t know how to help herself in that dire situation.
From that moment on I was even more passionate about getting my young children safe and confident in the water at an early age. I enrolled Helen in lessons with Anna Faenza of Holy Mackerel Infant Aquatics. Anna was an awesome teacher and Helen excelled at her swimming. I soon began the process of getting certified so I could teach other babies and children in my town survival swimming. In February 2021, I became a certified Swim Float Swim Infant Aquatics® Instructor.
My training with Judy Heumann, as well as observing the Swim Float Swim team teaching skilled kids in group lessons, was rewarding, and I was especially impressed by the rapid learning process the children experienced. In addition, I enjoyed interacting with the parents and seeing their (and my!) amazement at how each child evolved in his or her own way with the swim float swim technique. I’m constantly learning from the students, and they in turn, are learning how to appreciate the water with their new self-rescue skills.
I am honored to provide your children with the necessary lifesaving water skills to promote confidence and a love of swimming and water activities for life.