Summer employment ushered in tides of leadership and growth for Sacred Heart Greenwich Upper School students. Through their participation in workplaces and service organizations, these girls honed their confidence and communication skills. Senior Payton Sfreddo, who worked as a lifeguard at her local beach club, and senior Claire Maher, who brought her leadership to several youth-oriented workplaces, commented on how their positions influenced their perspectives and future job prospects.
Payton’s parents encouraged her to apply for a job to gain work experience. She chose to follow in her brother’s footsteps and lifeguard for the Shenorock Shore Club in Rye, New York.
“My older brother started lifeguarding at this beach club in our town when he was a freshman,” Payton said. “When my parents said, ‘It’s time for you to get a job,’ my sister and I both started this summer to work as lifeguards. It was an easier way that was already in my family to get into a job opportunity.”
Payton acknowledged that working as a lifeguard posed some unexpected challenges. She realized that pools and beaches can be more dangerous than they seem. She described learning to release expectations of the job in order to perform her best work.
“I expected it to be a nice time,” Payton said. “You’re at the beach, but I didn’t expect there to be so many scares. When I started lifeguarding, I realized it’s way more common than I would have thought. By being a lifeguard, the little things mean a lot more than you think to other people, even if it’s just picking trash up off of the beach or going in early to lifeguard those at the morning swims. Even if it’s simple, everyone is so grateful for it. That human relationship is something I want to continue in my future.”
Claire took on positions at multiple organizations that offer summer programming to children, from working at the Community Art Garden studio in Chester, Vermont, to instructing a Red Cross safety skills class for Kindergarten students, to teaching dance classes at her local studio, Allegra Dance in Greenwich, Connecticut. She noted her enjoyment in providing youth with creative outlets that she herself enjoyed at their age.
“I worked at the Art Garden in Vermont because I used to go to camp there when I was younger,” Claire said. “I really enjoy working with young children, and this art studio has always been very special to me as I grew up taking classes there, so when the opportunity arose for me to work there while visiting family in Vermont, I took it.”
Claire emphasized how her perspective on leadership changed after her experiences working with youth. To properly collaborate with children and her peers, she learned new methods of communicating and guiding those around her to create a positive atmosphere at her organizations.
“The majority of the work I did this summer involved working with children, which meant I had to really adjust my communication skills and leadership skills for the children to be engaged and want to participate,” Claire said. “This experience was challenging at times as children were sometimes unresponsive to my leadership or didn’t have the capacity to sit still and listen to directions. My perspective on leadership changed in these scenarios to recognize that being a leader doesn’t always mean having control or everyone’s attention but it also means being able to connect with everyone and make each child feel welcomed and comfortable.”
Like Payton, Claire plans to apply the skills she honed at her jobs in the future, both in her career and in her daily life. Although she does not intend to work with children, she hopes her career will benefit the lives of young people across the globe.
“I don’t think I want to be a teacher or have a child-centric career permanently, but I would love to go into the Peace Corps or a similar organization to make a difference in children’s lives as I was doing this summer,” Claire said. “Patience, as well as respect, was an essential skill in my various experiences and will be such a valuable skill throughout my professional career.”
Featured Image by Lindsay Taylor ’24
