In conversation with a Gloucester lifeguard

Early mornings. Cold, salty sea air. Waves crash against the shore at Good Harbor Beach while lifeguards sit in the Guard Room, located by the Snack Shack, waiting for their shift to commence. Hands grab for the guard tubes, rescue boards, med kits, and radios—all necessities for a working Gloucester lifeguard.

In front of the Snack Shack is center stand. At around 9:30 a.m., amidst all of the hustle and bustle, Gloucester lifeguard Charlotte Morris departs from center stand and heads to her allocated position on the vast beach—whether it be by the creek or near the rocks jutting out into the waves. 

The job of a lifeguard is an unconventional one, especially for a high school student. Most of Gloucester’s lifeguards are between the ages of 16 and 22. Whilst balancing scholastic obligations, they must also report to work every day and navigate the difficulties of rescues, first aid, weather problems, and more. It is not an easy job, but it is certainly a rewarding one for those who are passionate enough. 

Charlotte Morris is planning to major in nursing at Simmons University in the fall, and is certainly one of those people. She’s been a lifeguard for two summers, not just in Gloucester, but at her summer camp as well. However, she didn’t know she wanted to go into nursing until very recently—and her job was what helped her realize that goal. 

Q: What made you want to become a lifeguard, and subsequently, a nursing major? 

I always saw the lifeguards at the beach and I was like, “You know what? I want to do that when I’m old enough.” I was on swim team, and I knew a lot of people who were lifeguards through that, and so I got my certification. The next day I emailed with “Hey, do you want to hire me?” and they did. But then, I really just liked helping people. That’s why I decided to do nursing. It just felt really fulfilling and exciting. 

Q: You seem very passionate about helping people. Is there a specific reason why?

I found it to be very fulfilling. I know what it can be like to be vulnerable and sick. I’ve been in the hospital before, and I really appreciated all of the help I’ve gotten there. I want to give back.

Q: What is your favorite part of your job as a lifeguard?

I really just love helping people. I love being outside. I love the ocean. And I love the community of lifeguards that we have. 

Q: What do you like the most about working outside, on the beach in the summer? It’s a unique environment so I can imagine preparing for that each day would be kind of unconventional.

I really just love being out in nature when it’s a nice, beautiful sunny day like that. But the temperature honestly fluctuates so much. Sometimes I’ll bring several layers and eventually I won’t have any of them on. I’ll just be in my bathing suit by the end of the day because it’s so hot. It’ll be breezy, and then the next thing you know, it’ll be like, “Oh my god, I need to go get in the water right now.” 

And then the sun is a whole other thing. I reapply sunscreen every hour, I think. I have a zinc sunscreen that I use on my face, and I use that so much more because last season my face got so burnt. That was pretty bad. You really just have to look out for the sun a lot of the time. Hats, sunglasses—hoods, if you can, if it’s cool enough. If you’re burnt even a little bit, you need aloe to make sure it doesn’t get any worse. And you need a lot of water. I bring two water bottles. We also eat our lunch out on the stand. 

Q: Obviously, working in any kind of environment that involves first aid can be chaotic and stressful. You’ve done a ton of stuff—lifeguarding, camp counseling, and now you’re off to study nursing at Simmons. How do you manage when things get hard, or when you are presented with an overwhelming situation?

I sort of go into this zone where I just know what to do. And I’m sitting there, I’m comforting the person, I’m not thinking about myself—I’m thinking about what I can do to help this person as best as I can. Honestly, the biggest issue I run into is if I have to dress a wound, the gloves are always too big, and that’s what I panic about! But I don’t want to get any bloodborne pathogens, so I have to wear them. 

When I’m thinking about making a rescue, it’s scary. But when I do it, I just snap into rescue mode. I don’t really think about what I’m doing. I just do it, and it works out well. It’s like instinct, I suppose.

Q: If you could give any advice to your younger self, what would it be, knowing what you know now?

I’d say to figure it out sooner. I figured out that I wanted to do nursing the summer before I applied to college. I really crammed all of my college tours and researching colleges into just a couple of months, when in reality, it should take around a year. But I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I wanted to do marine biology before this, and I don’t know why. I just picked something because I felt like that’s what I had to do. 

And then I figured out, “Oh my god, nursing would be great—let me just turn all of this around and switch career paths real quick.” Thank god it wasn’t before I’d actually gone to school for it. Basically, just start thinking about what you want to do a lot sooner. Take more steps towards that goal.