RECognition: Kezha Neale-Sacks, Aquatics

Recreation's monthly series to celebrate our staff

By Shawn Cyr
Assistant Marketing Director

If you’re going to be hanging around a pool, there’s probably nobody better to have nearby than Kezha Neale-Sacks. A senior in Thurgood Marshall College set to graduate in June, she’s an expert lifeguard and knows CPR as well as anyone.

She also probably has a Frisbee nearby if you fancy a game of catch, and a guitar at hand if things start to quiet down.

Kezha — it’s like Asia with a “K” — joined REC in 2022 and instantly found her footing poolside. A member of our Aquatics team, she’s REC’s certified CPR/AED/First Aid instructor and a lifeguard at the Canyonview and Natatorium pools.

“I started lifeguarding when I was 14 and knew I wanted to keep doing it in college, so I applied to be a lifeguard my second quarter on campus,” she says. “I've made some great friends through my job, so I'm thankful for that! Also, I love working with others who share my passion for teaching and learning lifesaving skills.”

Her passion runs deep, too (no pun intended). Kezha says her most memorable time with REC was volunteering with other students to teach compression-only CPR to San Diego community members.

“I loved it because I think it's a really important skill to have, and it was nice to be able to offer that training to people at no cost to them,” she says.

Calling her a “one-of-a-kind student,” Aquatics Director Jason Dillon says Kezha has made a profound impact during her time with us.

“Her drive, passion, and unending curiosity have helped the CPR program bloom, and she was crucial in establishing our partnership with Revive and Survive,” he says. “Kezha is a pleasure to teach, a pleasure to work with, and a pleasure to learn from.”

After graduation, Kezha has accepted her "dream research job" at Oregon Health and Science University, where she will work on developing better forms of contraception.

"I’m really excited because I’m passionate about reproductive health, and I’m thrilled to contribute to improving that sector of medicine," she says.

When she’s not working, Kezha enjoys playing Frisbee (obviously), running, going to the beach with friends, and lifting weights. She’s also recently taken up playing the guitar.

“I started learning because I sing and write songs, so I wanted to be able to play guitar along to my songs,” she says. “Right now I'm working on writing my own chords, but it's a very slow process! Probably going to take a songwriting course at a community college in my gap years so I can get better at it!”

At this rate, she’ll probably be teaching guitar lessons before we know it.