On days when temperatures reach triple digits, most people in St. Joseph would give their left foot to stay indoors and soak in the A/C. But Ryan Van Belkum and Brad Brush aren’t sweating it. In fact, they spend six days a week in the sun as lifeguards at the St. Joseph Aquatic Park.

Both Missouri Western students are in their fourth summer of lifeguarding. And they each admit that they became lifeguards because of the awesome pay. While many of their 16- and 17-year-old friends were toiling for about $5.15 an hour, they were making a few dollars more.

“The economy has caught up a bit since then,” Mr. Brush laughs. “But it’s still a rewarding job.”

They’ve made lots of friends and get to hang out at the pool all day, but any lifeguard will tell you that what’s most rewarding is using training to help people in need. Mr. Van Belkum and Mr. Brush both took classes in First Aid, CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) training.

Mr. Brush is especially thankful for his training. In his first year at the Aquatic Park, a man was pushed into the pool and landed on the back of a young girl’s neck. After Mr. Brush dove in and pulled the girl out, he used a method called in-line stabilization to keep her head and neck stable until an ambulance arrived. Many assumed Mr. Brush would be uneasy in the situation, but he was surprisingly calm.

“I wasn’t too nervous because I knew exactly what I was supposed to do,” he says.

Mr. Van Belkum has had his share of stress, too. He has had to save several over-ambitious children from drowning in the diving area.

“Older people know their limits. It’s usually little kids that have a little more guts than they should,” Mr. Van Belkum explains.

Mr. Van Belkum says it’s hard “knowing you have that responsibility.” But he keeps his mind off of that fact by staying busy. On a daily basis, the lifeguards must deal with kids (and some adults) running carelessly, divers in shallow waters and those who dangerously “chain-dive” or take “chain-rides” down the slide where painful collisions are likely.

But they still love their jobs, even if they have to put their whistles and vocal chords to good use.

“Yeah, we do a lot of yelling,” Mr. Van Belkum laughs.

“It’s not yelling,” Mr. Brush replies. “It’s showing them the errors of their ways.”

Lifestyles reporter Shea Conner can be reached at sheaconner@npgco.com