Emma Langton Staff Spotlight Interview
Emma Langton is in her second year at PSU and you are likely to run into her at the pool, both Lifeguarding and teaching Swim Lessons. Emma is from Portland originally, but moved around a bit before coming back for school. After looking at quite a few schools, PSU was not only an affordable option for Emma, but she also loves Portland and was excited to move back over from Washington. After coming to PSU Emma found herself applying to Aquatics at the Rec. Emma gained interest initially because she had previously played Water Polo and said “My sister who was a Lifeguard kept sending me the application and telling me to apply!” Since joining Campus Rec, Emma has gained both her Water Safety Instructor certification and her Lifeguard Instructor certification, and was named Lifeguard of the Month this Fall.
While in school, Emma is busy studying Psychology under Occupational Therapy. From there she hopes to earn her doctorate in Occupational Therapy and go into either Neuro or Pediatric Occupational Therapist work. In line with her studies, Emma’s passions include neuroscience and anatomy. She enjoys learning about human function and having the ability to get to the root cause of a problem. For example Emma says, “I love knowing how the body works, and being like if my elbow hurts knowing exactly why.” In the future she believes that her current job will help her, “Learn how to talk to all kinds of people, both coworkers and patrons.” She thinks gaining this experience now allows for more opportunity to enhance personal communication skills, as well as create and maintain community connection, all things she finds important to her current and future endeavors.
In Emma’s spare time she attends the PSU Swim Club, and says that, “Swim Club is so welcoming, I’m definitely not the fastest, but everyone is so nice and fun!” She notes that it is a great place to meet people as well as feel included in a group workout without there being too much pressure or expectations. Emma is also very creative and also enjoys painting and drawing in her down time, as well as listening to music, one of her bigger passions. Emma has a large record collection, and tells us she has been listening to a lot of Phantogram and Radiohead to get through this Winter. On the job, Emma loves learning about swimming mechanics, like how to be faster, more technical, or more adaptive. Additionally, the most rewarding part of her job is without a doubt teaching people how to swim. She says, “Seeing them progress from not being comfortable in the water to doing full freestyle is so rewarding, and it can be hard for some people too and take longer and more effort, but I think that pays more too in the end.”
Inclusion and community are two Campus Rec values that are important to Emma, both in her work and personal life. “I always want everyone to feel included. There are sometimes big divides in skill, especially in lessons, so I want everyone to be able to feel successful.” To Emma, especially when looking at teaching and motivation, it is very important to make sure each person can have equitable access to time and resources, so that they don’t feel put down by other people seeming better or progressing faster. She expands that thinking about community and building interpersonal relationships is also beneficial to making everyone feel included and comfortable.
When first coming to the Rec, Emma recalled feeling more nervous to talk to everyone, but has found that it is really beneficial to make a place for yourself here. Emma would urge new staff to “Talk to everyone! Meeting more people makes the Rec feel more comfortable. Also, ask questions, it can feel awkward, but the more you do it the easier it gets.” She adds that talking to both staff and patrons is important because the more comfortable everyone feels, the more we can all succeed.
Finally, a fun fact you may not know about Emma is that she used to live in Alaska. While there, Emma participated in dog mushing and even competed in the Junior Iditarod as a child! Now, on her own time you might see Emma swimming at the Rec or participating in other Aquatic activities, but either way Emma is certainly someone that enjoys a challenge and is able to jump right into anything. As you can see, Emma’s biggest takeaways from college so far and advice to students is to “Try everything, when time is willing. Do your homework then go to clubs. My roommate told me about the neuroscience club and all the stuff they had and I was like wow that’s really cool, and I checked it out and liked it. Also come to the rec of course!” Like learning to swim or trying a new club, Emma reminds us that taking a first step can be a challenge, but you will only get better from there.