Nichole Sinnett loves to be in the water. When she was growing up in Lamar, Mo., she was on the swim team for eight years, counting her years on the Lamar High School team. She also worked as a lifeguard at the city pool when she was in high school.
“I have a shoebox full of ribbons and medals,” she said. “I swam the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke.”
So when Nichole saw a help-wanted ad for the Clinton Aquatic Center, she jumped at the chance. She started on Sept. 10 as an Aquatic Aide, and hopes to move up the ranks when she finishes certification courses.
Nichole also taught water aerobics. After she graduated from Lamar High School in 2015, she completed a massage therapy training program at City Pointe Beauty Academy in Webb City.
In 2018, she met her partner, Travis Scott, when he was in Joplin for a training course with Walmart. In 2020, Nichole and Travis moved to Clinton for a job opportunity at the Warsaw Walmart Store, where he is the asset protection manager. They have a son, Lucas, who is almost 2 years old.
As the Aquatic Center Aide, Nichole oversees staff, including three new managers, Melissa, Loren and Susie, who started full-time last Monday, Oct. 16. The Aquatic Center will be open for the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. swim starting on that date, she said. Nichole said she is in the process of getting the hot-water therapy pool back open, which was closed due to not having enough staff to watch the smaller pool in addition to two guards for the big pool.
Nichole now has a roster of nine lifeguards, she said. Some are college kids who work on breaks, she said.
Nichole is looking forward to completing her lifeguard instructor course so she can train lifeguards on site. She first has to get her deep-water certification, as the outdoor pool at Artesian Park is a deep-water pool. She will also be working on Water Instructor certification to teach swimming classes, and is signing up for “pool school,” an online course in pool maintenance and water treatment, which is completed by passing a test via Zoom, she said.
The Aquatic Center pool will be closed from Oct. 23 through Nov. 7 to install the new boilers into the new boiler room.
Nichole is the process of getting things organized in the director’s office, which Anne Drury occupied as aquatic director from 2006, the year the indoor pool opened, until her retirement.
“I’m doing the job,” Nichole said. “That’s the goal.”
