I am a co-founder of the Lifeguard Outreach Society. Created in 2014, our organization has sent water safety and first aid instructors to several communities around British Columbia and Alberta. This is inherently a volunteer role, and I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a meaningful amount of time on the road and in rural communities. Our main aim is to enhance public health in rural and isolated communities, especially in different First Nation communities.
I’ve done a lot of volunteer work on Vancouver Island with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, up north with the Nisga’a Nation, and all around the province with different communities. My primary role has been teaching children how to survive an unexpected fall into deep water, as well as rudimentary first aid skills, including rolling an unconscious person into a recovery position.
A photo of me teaching water safety to youth on Hornby Island.
Volunteering with the society has been my biggest influence for getting into teaching. Through it, I’ve interacted with so many different demographics and built my teaching abilities. As an Indigenous person, it’s also given me a lot of education in terms of working with different nations in British Columbia, as well as taking part in local customs and culture. It’s been a primary motivator for me to learn more about being Secwepemc, what that means, and how to champion it.
Here’s a photo of me and another Lifeguard Outreach Society member volunteering as youth educators with the Ahousaht First Nation at the Hooksum Outdoor School on Vancouver Island.