Many students struggle to balance school, work, and social life but Richmond swim instructor Priscilla O. seems to have it all figured out. During the week, she's a full time student working towards becoming a medical laboratory technician. On the weekend, she teaches private lessons each morning and then heads off to enjoy the sunshine or study with friends.
As a part timer, Priscilla is one of our many student instructors embracing self-employed work in aquatics, and she is killing it.
The weekend warrior
In the summer of 2017, Priscilla decided to try teaching with Propel and made herself available for just 6 hours a week. Within a month, all of her future lessons were booked solid through the end of the year. Building a client base that quickly isn't typical for every instructor but for Priscilla it came naturally.
"I have been told I look like I have alot of fun and enjoy what I do. And it's true! When my students see me having fun, their fears and inhibitions simply disappear."
Being contagiously fun is an obvious recipe for success but Priscilla admits there are other aspects of teaching with Propel that allow her to form a deeper bond with both students and parents.
Shallow pools, deep connections
Private swimming lessons are the absolute best way to learn how to swim, but for those who register at public and franchise swim schools, a student's learning often grinds to a halt whenever a lesson set ends and a new instructor takes over. For Priscilla's clients, this is never an issue. With her schedule set in advance and the ability for clients to choose her as their instructor, Priscilla's students adapt to her teaching style once and then stick with her to learn everything from basic floats to advanced strokes.
Another reason Priscilla chose to list on the Propel platform as an instructor had to do with her prior teaching experience. In her words, "I always felt like I was restricted by having too many students and not enough time in public classes. Propel gave me an opportunity to teach in my own style and adapt to each individual student's needs."
As a full time student, she found that not many places were willing to hire someone to work just once a week. Being expected to work regular eight hour shifts on top of school can lead to many students to fall behind in their studies. To Priscilla, her work with Propel is helping her both "financially and mentally, since it's a great way to get away from school life, to just relax and have fun with cool clients."
What clients say about her
Priscilla's clients are constantly praising her teaching methodology, patience, and energy.
One client remarked "My son adores her [...] he feels like he knows and trusts her. I find that Priscilla's techniques capture my son's attention, keeping him entertained and eager to learn more."
In fact, the only complaint we've ever received regarding Priscilla's lessons are the kind that come from students in her class who say that don't want to stop when their hour is up!
Before we tried Propel, our son was scared to put his head into the water. With Priscilla he completely forgot that fear.
— Emma
Skills for days
For anyone interested in learning with Priscilla, her specialities include:
Working with kids
- Introduction to swimming lessons
- Fun games and adventures
- Swim club coaching
Teaching adults & teens
- Fear of water
- Late learners
- Stroke improvement
Priscilla isn't the only instructor working out of her base pool in Richmond, BC. There are many others instructors who join her on weekends and together form a small local community. Even though she's one of the top performing instructors, when asked how she rose to become such a powerhouse instructor she humbly replied "I'm not the only one, everyone out here is rocking it 🙂."
