Meet CalyGrads: Calypso's Where are They Now Series - Emmett

As one of the largest summer seasonal employers in Eastern Ontario, Calypso waterpark has provided summer time fun and employment to almost 5,000 young people since 2010. Of course the big draw for young people is being able to enjoy the attractions on their days off, and we offer some pretty sweet opportunities like discounts, contests and some amazing end-of-season awards. The biggest thing for our student workers and for us is the ability for them to return each season without having to look for another summer job. We wanted to be sure our seasonal staff was going away with more than just benefits, we wanted impact. We asked some of our former employees about their Calypso experience and we were so humbled by the responses, we have decided to share some of them. Here is another in our Calygrads: Calypso's Where are They Now series!

Meet Emmett Workman

I began working at Calypso when I was 17 as a lifeguard. This actually was my first job as a lifeguard. I had just graduated high school and was looking for a fun summer job before going off to post-secondary school in the Fall. I had been to Calypso a few times the summer beforehand and the park was so much fun, in terms of aquatic attractions that I thought it would be so much fun to work at.  

 What was fun about my experience here was that every day was different.  We moved around through the park day to day and were on different attractions so you got some nice change of pace and you were not just placed in one attraction for the entire day.  You really got to experience the entire park and gain so much knowledge of each attraction.  Getting the pass for the park for the summer was always so much fun. You could do some slides before your shift or you were able to come on your day off.  Ice Cream was also a great reward after a long day in the sun and the special discount was always a nice incentive to reward yourself with after work.  

The biggest things that Calypso has helped me with in my current career are: public relation skills, the importance of safety management and communication There were thousands of clients who visited Calypso in a day, but being the lifeguard/operator of an attraction, you have to ensure that all safety requirements are being followed as per the guidelines set.  You may have experienced some unhappy clients from time to time but figuring out ways to accommodate clients or make some other suggestions was the way to go.  I was also at times doing some morning inspections to ensure that all attractions were deemed fit to open prior to operation hours.  Being given this responsibility was a huge benefit as it allowed me to assess attractions and flag any concerns to operations for resolution.  This is why I find communication so important in the workplace as teams and departments need to work together to resolve any issues and if communication lacks then things may not get all accomplished that needs to be accomplished.  

Calypso is what inspired me to pursue aquatics as a career.  Though I never made it to management with Calypso during my time I gained the skills needed to pursue my career.  I have now been a supervisor for several pools and facilities, and recently have been given the opportunity to be in a Program Coordinator role for the City of Ottawa.  I carry my memories of Calypso into my career and now dedicate myself now to provide exceptional leadership, customer service, client rapport and share my knowledge of aquatic knowledge with my colleagues.   

Connect with Emmett on Linkedin

If you are a CalyGrad and want to share your story, contact hr@calypsopark.com

To read other CalyGrad articles see my articles below for: Haley Verville, Paul McGimpsey, Valérie Tremblay, Eric Verville, Shannelle Blanchet, Michael Morley, Gavin Harmon, Owen Hussey, Janelle Grégoire.

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