90-Year-Old Realizes Dream of Becoming Lifeguard

A 90-year-old former professional swimmer and diver fulfilled a dream of her youth when she became an honorary lifeguard at the on Friday, Jan. 13.

Hazal, a resident of , traveled to the YMCA on a chilly afternoon with some of her fellow residents in tow to go poolside at the indoor aquatic center. She was given her own whistle, lifeguard certificate and lifeguard rescue float before being taken poolside.

Alpharetta's Y was a stand-in for the , which had a 30-foot window blow out due to the high winds the day before.

Being a lifeguard had been a dream when she was a young woman in Dallas, Texas, but that's all it could be at the time because only men were allowed to be lifeguards at the time. helped her realize that dream.

Second Wind Dreams was founded by P.K. Beville of Marietta on Jan. 15, 1997.

Second Wind Dreams, an international non-profit, celebrated 15 years of making dreams come true for elders in long term care communities on Jan. 13, Dream Day 2012, according to P.K. Beville, the organization's founder.