Jackie Squire, Employee
When people say, “it takes a village to raise a child” it is true. I was personally raised by a village. This village was the families in my neighborhood pool. Growing up in Arizona, the only way to survive was to spend your time at the pool swimming. I took this to a whole new level, swim team practice was early in the morning. I would stay and help with the younger kids. Then after swim team, it was swim lessons until I was old enough to become certified to teach swim lessons. After swim lessons, I would race home to eat lunch and finish my chores for the day. I would be back at the pool by 1pm for open swim. When I turned 16, becoming a lifeguard was the obvious first real job. We would be at the pool from the moment it opened to closing. To this day my favorite memories are watching the monsoon storms roll in right before sunset and light up the sky. The pool family is my village. I was able to see the village come full circle when I was teaching children to swim who’s parents taught me how to swim. These families were there for me for every belly flop to every perfect finish. Now my nephew Kylian goes to the pool and is creating memories of hunting for eggs, catching fish in the pool on the 4th of July, jumping off the diving board for the first time, swimming across the pool without floaties, and enjoying the dive in movies. My village has taught me the value of relationships and what a community can feel like to the core. As childhood summer has ended for me, the connections and relationships have only continued with my experience at Chuze Fitness. My Why is to interact with others to build relationships so that, together, we can change the world.