It is November, the middle of fall, and outside the leaves on the trees glow in the slanted sunshine. Students are bundled up in jackets and sweaters against the 40-degree temperatures, which have arrived overnight.

However, inside the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, housed in Carmichael Gymnasium, the temperature is maintained at a balmy 85 degrees. There are two pools, one 25 meters long and the other 50 meters long, in the aquatic center, which together hold 770,000 gallons of water.

The lifeguards here are responsible for watching over almost a million gallons of water. There are about 20 lifeguards, and they do everything from watching over the swim classes to testing the water pH.

Reid Brannon, a sophomore in psychology, said he took swim conditioning in the student-maintained aquatic center last semester.

“Before taking the class I had never even been to the pool,” Brannon said. “I was kinda surprised at how convenient it was, and it was really nice.”

Sarah McDaniel, a sophomore in social work and a lifeguard, said this is her second semester as a lifeguard. Before becoming a lifeguard, she said she worked in the student housing office.

“I stuffed envelopes. [That was] probably the most boring job ever,” McDaniel said.

She said she has been a lifeguard since she was 16, and after swimming at the pool for the first time as a freshman, she decided to ask about getting a job there.

“It didn’t look too stressful — no kids,” McDaniel said .

She said it’s fun interacting with students and seeing people she knows, which is something she said she couldn’t do at her first student job.

“[I] get to see all of the athletics celebrities — Andrew Brackman was in here last week, so that was pretty cool,” McDaniel said.

Megan Perry, a senior in political science, said she has been working as a student lifeguard for seven semesters. She first became a lifeguard when she was 14 years old. She said working as a lifeguard is the first and only job she has ever had.

“It’s convenient because we don’t work normal hours. Plus you don’t have to dress up. You can wear gym shorts and a bathing suit to work,” Perry said.

Even though the dress code is laid back, the training is intense.

McDaniel said she was surprised by the amount of training the lifeguards undergo. She said they are videotaped on their rescue training, and Larry Brown, the aquatics director, occasionally gives the lifeguards WebAssigns on the training material.

“It makes me feel better to know I have the skills to save someone,” McDaniel said.