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Student Opinion
What’s Your Ideal Summer Job?
Have you ever considered being a lifeguard?
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By
Jeremy Engle
April 27, 2026,
5:03 a.m. ET
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Have you ever had a summer job? If so, what did you do, and what was the experience like for you?
How about this upcoming summer? Are you planning to work?
Have you ever considered becoming a lifeguard?
In “
New York Needs Lifeguards. Would These Teens Make the Cut?
” Yuvraj Khanna writes about teenagers who are trying out for the chance to patrol the city’s beaches and pools this summer:
William Gillette, 16, had just swum 50 yards in under 50 seconds, a necessary feat to become a New York City lifeguard.
“You only live once,” he said, “so you might as well put your life on the line for someone, even if you don’t know them.”
The city has struggled with a lifeguard shortage for the past decade. So it was a hopeful sign last month to see lines of eager candidates at high schools in the Bronx and on Staten Island braving freezing temperatures to try out for a summer job that comes with the responsibility of constant vigilance.
To qualify for the $22-an-hour positions, would-be lifeguards must pass a vision exam and do what William did at Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx: swim 50 yards in 50 seconds or less.
Clarwin Conquet, 16, who grew up swimming in the Dominican Republic and has seen young people struggle in the water, also took the test in the Bronx. He said lifeguard training would give him the confidence he needed to save lives.
Feliza Cheung, 16, took the test at the echo-filled pool complex at Curtis High School on Staten Island. She said that becoming a lifeguard would allow her to stay close to the water while serving her community.
The article quotes some of these would-be lifeguards:
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“I have a passion for swimming, and the lifeguard program is an opportunity for me to get paid over the summer while doing something that I really love.”
Ezaiah Miguel Baez, 16
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