Katy Bradford, assistant lakefront manager for the Wilmette Park District, is, in her own words, “excited about lifeguarding.” Bradford is also vice president of the Chicago-North Shore Chapter of the United States Lifesaving Association, a national association of beach lifeguards and open water rescuers.
Q: How did you get into lifeguard work?
A: I moved to Evanston when I was 15. Evanston Township High School had a lifeguard program. I took it and got certified, then worked as a lifeguard at Northwestern University part time over the next six to eight years. I came here in 2007. I wanted to be a lifeguard because I wanted to be able to help people, and keep them safe. That’s what I look for when I hire people here; people who want to keep other people safe.
Q: What’s the difference between lifeguarding at a pool, or on the ocean, and doing the job on Lake Michigan?
A: There are differences between pool and open water, but people don’t know as much about the differences between ocean and Lake Michigan, which is really an inland sea. The ocean is salt water, so it’s more buoyant than the lake. The lake is more changeable; for every three ocean waves, we’ll have six to eight. Ocean lifeguards can almost predict where their riptides are, but in a lake with a lot of man-made structures in the water, and with things on the lake bottom, lifeguards have to pay attention. Those things create riptides in ways you can’t predict. The wind also causes changes; if it’s from the west, it blows the warm water to the other side of the lake, and all of a sudden the water here is cold.
Q: What is important to you as a lifeguard official?
A: Public education. For instance, we want people to wear their personal flotation devices – their lifejackets – when they paddle, when they kayak; they don’t do you any good when they’re not on you!
Q: Where in the world would you like to swim?
A: I like snorkeling, so I’d love to swim at (Australia’s) Great Barrier Reef, to see its amazing ecosystem.
Q: Finally, where are you spending your holiday?
A: Believe it or not, my family is spending Christmas Eve here at the Lakeview Center.
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–Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
Twitter: @pioneer_kathy
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