Two teenage lifeguards were honored by the American Red Cross for their heroic actions to help save the life of a 5-year-old girl this summer at Welch Pool in State College.
At Monday night’s Centre Region Council of Governments meeting, Chloe Bevilacqua and Zachary Hagerup were presented with the Lifesaving Award, one of the highest individual honors given by the Red Cross, for their actions at the pool in June.
The certificate is given to individuals who save a life by using skills learned in the Red Cross preparedness and health and safety services course.
On June 16, a girl was found face down in the pool and removed by an alert patron. Hagerup and Bevilacqua quickly reacted and began performing CPR. The girl began coughing and regained consciousness. Paramedics arrived shortly after and transported her to Mount Nittany Medical Center.
‘I was very, very proud of what our staff did that day, resulting in a very successful outcome,’ said Centre Region Parks and Recreation Director Pam Salokangas said.
Todd Roth, CRPR acquatics supervisor, said Hagerup and Bevilacqua are a credit to the mostly young staff at the pools who use their training to provide a safe environment.
‘We are so proud of our mostly teenage and early 20-something staff the job they are able to do protecting people in our community as they enjoy our swimming pools,’ Roth said.
