Kathryn Laintz

As a leader of the Youth Conservation Corps of the YMCA, I was responsible for a group of 13 high school aged children. My co-leaders and the head director of the program worked together with forest service and county open space officials to coordinate environmental and trail/public lands service projects to involve the children in. During the eight hours the program ran, my coworkers and I would lead the children in manual labor projects that benefited the community as well as monitor safe work practices, health of the crew, and work quality. In addition to instructing the children's work, I needed to be prepared to solve conflicts as well as keep up morale and work ethic by encouraging and redirecting them to have appropriate conversation topics and attitudes. At the end of each week, I would also write a weekly report summarizing the events of the week for the YMCA to keep track of.

At Shake and Shine, I was employed as an assistant dog groomer. My duties were to care for patrons and their dogs, which included tasks such as nail trimming, bathing, and brushing a variety of dogs. My job also required constant cleaning to maintain store tidiness and hygiene. I also worked at the front desk for retail service and scheduling clients. At this job, effective communication was vital when collecting information about clients and their dogs' needs, as well as maintaining effective teamwork with my coworkers. In addition, I had to be able to quickly adapt my demeanor when working with a range of dogs' temperaments.

As an assistant director of the Youth Earth Service Corps of the YMCA, I was responsible for a group of 8-12 middle school aged children. My coassistant director and the head director of the program worked together with community organizations to coordinate engaging and educational service projects to involve the children in. During the four hours the program ran, my coworker and I would lead the children in manual labor projects that benefited the community as well as a hike where they could learn about local ecosystems and history. In addition to instructing the children's work, I needed to be prepared to solve conflicts as well as keep them entertained and having fun with appropriate conversation topics and games. At the end of each week, I would also write a weekly report summarizing the events of the week for the YMCA to keep track of.

As a housekeeper contracted by P &L, I would communicate with clients about their specific house cleaning needs. I would then work to the best of my abilities to achieve their request within the time frame I was hired by a client. My job included physical labor, such as surface cleaning, moving furniture, washing fabrics, and organizing personal belongings. In addition, I had to be knowledgeable about different types of cleaning products and tools, and how to properly use them to effectively and safely sanitize an area.

As a YCC Crew member, I worked a physically demanding labor job performing forestry services and habitat maintenance for Los Alamos County's public lands. Teamwork was vital to effectively complete a project.

As a lifeguard I was tasked with protecting the safety of pool patrons. I also had to work under pressure with a group of peers to make quick decisions involving the well being of the pool and community members. I would also help instruct American Red-Cross certified swim lessons, as well as teach private swim lessons. I was also responsible for maintaining pool cleanliness and safety by cleaning surfaces, monitoring and emptying trash and litter, and testing water chemistry.