Most high schoolers have summer jobs to earn a little extra money and to keep themselves busy. Senior Tommy Drews had a summer job that is similar to those of most high schoolers. Drews was a lifeguard at Walden Pond.

Drews started his his shift on the stand as if it were any other normal day.

“After I got on stand, I noticed a boy bobbing strangely in the water. I was uncertain whether he was playing around or not because I had seen many kids goofing off before,” Drews said.

Drews called over other guards to look at the boy, but said he looked like he was just playing around. However, Drews kept his eyes on the body.

“A few seconds later he submerged but never resurfaced. I signaled the emergency action plan,” Drews said. “When I got the boy out of the water, I became very freaked out and worried because he was pale white. I put him on the ground and started CPR.”

After the first round of CPR, other guards rushed down with a face mask and gave the two breaths, while Drews continued to give compressions. After the second set of CPR, the boy began to move, and after the third he began to cry. He was alive.

After the incident, although news teams arrived on the scene, Drews received no attention from them.

“As far as I know, they don’t even know I did it which is fine by me,” Drews said. “I didn’t feel accomplished as my colleagues thought I should feel, I felt sick because I thought I could have done something to help the boy earlier.”

Through this experience Drews has learned to act when his instincts tell him too.

“If I had not reacted the boy would have died,” Drews said.

Drews rarely talks about the incident. In fact, he still has trouble thinking about it.

“I talked to my boss, who told me that the past is the past and that although I may have regrets, I had saved someone’s life, which was a great accomplishment,” Drews said. “Although I don’t feel as bad as I did on that day, I still feel uncomfortable talking about it.”

However, he still recognizes that the experience made an impact on his life.

“This has changed my view on life. It has taught me to trust my instincts and to never be afraid to act.”