Sports
Meet Lifeguard Christopher Petersen
Fifth-year lifeguard is set to leave for Indiana this year.
The next time you're at the Summit Family Aquatic Center, be on the look out for fifth-year lifeguard Christopher Petersen. He was certified at the local Red Cross chapter and followed in his older brother's footsteps by applying to work at the SFAC.
"I like the people and I've gotten used to it," said Petersen. "I like swimming and I like the outdoors."
Petersen has made one save during his time at the SFAC. It happened about two years ago, in the diving well.
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"There was a little kid who went down the slide and got trapped under the water," said Petersen. "He got flustered and confused. You're supposed to swim out but he just stayed there and started flailing, so I jumped in and got him."
Petersen is a 2010 graduate of Summit High School and is off to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, Indiana this fall. He still has yet to decide whether he will major in biomedical engineering or mechanical, but he has some time to decide.
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"I knew I wanted to go into engineering," said Petersen. "I've always enjoyed building things and taking stuff apart and seeing how it works. When I started looking at colleges we looked in a book at good engineering schools and just started visiting them. We visited Rose-Hulman over spring break two years ago and I just really liked it."
Petersen was extremely active in high school, and not just in engineering-related activities.
"I swim, that takes up most of my free time," said Petersen. "Other than that, I play the trumpet and between those and work there isn't much time left."
Swimming has been a huge part of Petersen's life. He was on the Summit High School swim team as well as the Summit YMCA swim team. He will continue to swim at Rose-Hulman as a Fightin' Engineer.
"I swim the breaststroke as well as the 100, 200, and distance freestyle," said Petersen. "I don't swim the 1000m or the 1650m in high school. I swim those for my Y team, the Summit Seals. I just love being in the water."
When Petersen isn't at the pool you might find him playing Frisbee at Memorial Park, grabbing an ice cream at Magic Fountain. These last few weeks before he leaves he is spending time with his friends and family.
"I'll miss stuff (in Summit)," said Petersen, "but mostly I'm just excited and happy to go."
Stay tuned to Patch for more lifeguard updates.
