Being a lifeguard has never appealed to me. The thought of
sitting for hours and monitoring a pool of water waiting for something to go
wrong seemed to me a great source of both boredom and anxiety at the same time;
the fact I am a poor swimmer may have a small part in it as well. Don’t get me
wrong, I admire lifeguards. I grew up catching the last wave of the original
Baywatch series and watching The Sandlot (I REALLY hope you get that reference).
All kidding aside the very fact that they do monitor a situation hour after
hour, day after day and stay ready to spring into action when they are needed
is very admirable and noble. Think about it, you are at a pool on a hot day
crowded with people and all of a sudden someone yells “help!” just as you
notice a struggling swimmer stranded in the deep end. What would you do? As you
ponder your decision you hear a distinct splash pierce the clamor to notice the
lifeguard jumping in and quickly closing the distance to the victim and then
slowly, but surely guide them to safer waters. A key difference is that when
they see a need they do not hesitate, their instinct triggers and they have the
courage to jump in. 
As an OSU undergrad studying veterinary science Chelsie
Vukovich was talked into being a lifeguard at a summer camp for kids in the
foster care system by her grandparents 11 years ago. The Royal Family Kids Camp (RFKC) as it is
known is the Nation’s leading network of Camps, Clubs and Mentoring for
children of abuse, abandonment and neglect. With 209 camps in 40 states and 4
international countries RFKC has served over one hundred thousand kids since
its’ inception in 1985. Little did Chelsie know how much this favor for her
grandparents would end up impacting her life trajectory as she describes her
feeling after that first camp: “I just remember falling in love with the kids
and when I returned to OSU I knew I had to switch my major so I began studying
social work and volunteering at RFKC every summer since then; I absolutely love
it”. This passion continued growing and since then Chelsie has earned her
Masters in Social Work from USC, has been a Royal Family Kids Camp Director for
5 years and is the Behavior Specialist at Sherwood school district where she
meets the mental health needs for students there. On top of this Chelsie
volunteers with Cares Northwest at the Randall Children’s Hospital emergency department
where she partners with DHS and police departments to serve child trauma
victims in the greater Portland area stretching from Vancouver all the way to
the coast. This is where you pause
reading and give Chelsie a big air high five for being awesome…I will give you
a few seconds to do that, so go ahead.
Her work is anything, but easy and can be exhausting.
Chelsie reflects “I have to admit some days when I get home I am just tired and
have to find the energy somewhere because I might have a double shift that
night…remembering to pray helps as well as knowing what I do has an impact, I
know because I have seen it…it may not happen instantly, you know you have to
plant the seed and seeds grow at different speeds, but the important thing is
that the seed is planted…when you see your work pay off it is a thrill that
helps me keep going”. Asked why some people may not find that extra kick in the
butt to reach out in help, or try something new Chelsie’s answer echoes a
common response I have heard before of fear and being comfortable. “It can be
scary to try something new and if you are comfortable it is easy to stay where
you are at, but how are you supposed to grow? The thing is you can’t. To grow
you need to take that next step even if it seems uncomfortable…the part that
can be scary is when you run into conflict with others and you have to stand
firm in what you believe”.
The nature of Chelsie’s work exposes her to being involved
in many traumatic experiences where she needs to stand firm and embrace the
uncomfortable in order to grow. One recent example is the revelation of an
Oregon law that “to convict a suspected child abuser of felony assault or criminal mistreatment, prosecutors
must prove that the victim suffered a ‘physical injury’ under Oregon law. And
that, in turn, means proving that the person experienced ‘substantial pain.’”
(excerpt from Oregon
Live article). We live in the 21st century and yet have a law on
the books that allows someone who beats a child to face no criminal charges
simply because the child does not, or cannot say that they felt “substantial
pain”. When a lifeguard sees someone drowning they do not wait for the swimmer
to say “I’m drowning!”. What do they do? They see they are drowning and jump in
and save them! Waiting in this scenario could very well mean the difference in
losing, or saving a life. Now will each child that is beaten with their abuser
not facing justice necessarily lose their life? Not likely if you limit the
definition of “living” to just having a heartbeat. However, as I hope most of
us know, an abused child can grow up to suffer immensely below the surface
physiologically, emotionally and spiritually when the figure charged to protect
and nurture them does the opposite. 
You may not realize it Chelsie, but you never stopped being
a lifeguard.
To all those reading, if you see a need around you that you
have an ability, or skill to help with then what are you waiting for? Jump in
and don’t be afraid to act because the sad reality is the majority will stand
around and do nothing.
Fun Questions
What do you want to be when you grow up and why?
- “I enjoy what I do although it is very tiring at times so I hope I can grow up and can continue to have the energy to do what I am doing now; that would be great. Thinking about it more it would be great to be married to a prince since I feel like if you are married to a prince you get to travel the world and serve the needy, that sounds fun” J
Summer is not officially here according to the calendar, but
let’s get real, summer is here. What are you most looking forward to this
summer?
- “Well of course I am looking forward to the Royal Family Kids Camp in August I am running. On top of that though I am going on my first big trip abroad during June. I will be visiting Malaysia and Thailand while spending time with my cousin and dad, which will be great since it will be Father’s Day while I am there. It will be a great way to celebrate the end of a school year.”
It is also the season of graduations and thus commencement
speeches as well. If you were giving a commencement speech what would you say?
- “I would say just keep an open mind. We have an agenda of what is going to happen in college for the next 5-10 years and it rarely stays the way we planned. If my original agenda in college held through I wouldn’t be where I am now. Have a good general direction, set goals and allow time and experiences to shape who you are and where you end up. Do not act like in 5-10 years you will arrive at a destination and you will be ‘done’; there is always a next phase. Don’t get too comfortable in life and continue challenging yourself; if you stop challenging yourself you will stop growing”.
