September Blog Post 1

Autobiography and Introduction to Project

My name is Katie and I am a high school Junior interested in science and technology. Swimming has also been a big part of my life since I was young. I am on the swim team at my school and I regularly swim for fun and exercise in pools, lakes, and oceans. I am also trained as a lifeguard. During my lifeguard training, I learned about the dangers of drowning, and what a big problem it is. According to the CDC, 705 children under the age of 14 fatally drown each year in the US, and many more are injured in nonfatal drownings. One of the main causes of drowning is not knowing how to swim and how to avoid getting into a dangerous aquatic situation. But underprivileged families may not be able to afford swim lessons, and sometimes the parents may not know how to swim either. This way, lack of swimming ability and fear of water are passed down through generations. I want to help solve the drowning problem by making swim lessons affordable for underprivileged children in the area. Over the summer, I became certified as a Water Safety Instructor, so personally teaching kids to swim is an option. I hope through this project to give kids opportunities that they would not have had otherwise.