Mackenzie Kester

Mackenzie has been involved in swimming since a very young age. She learned to swim through Infant Swimming Resource or ISR, then joined a club swim team. She swam competitively for 18 years until recently, after swimming for four years in college at Henderson State University. Mackenzie has been coaching and teaching lessons for nine years. Teaching swim lessons and spreading awareness of water safety is extremely important to her. Mackenzie hopes to continue teaching lessons and training other young adults to inspire young children in the water. Mackenzie started Swim Station LLC in 2023 after previously teaching swim lessons in Tucson, Arizona. She is excited for the company to expand by reaching new people. She graduated in May 2024 with her Bachelor’s in Health and Human Performance and a minor in Psychology. Mackenzie is pursuing her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of Central Arkansas. She is Water Safety Instructor (WSI) and Water Safety Instructor-Trainer (WSIT) certified and was certified as a USA Swimming Coach for eight years. Mackenzie is currently teaching lessons at the Conway location. 

Arkadelphia Instructors

Maddy Hall

Maddy swam for 14 years and has been teaching swim lessons for four years. She will be a senior at at HSU in the fall. Aside from teaching swim lessons, Maddy works in the athletic training room at HSU and hopes to become an athletic trainer after graduating. She is passionate about teaching swim lessons and ensuring that all children have an equal opportunity to learn to swim. She is trained to work with infants and children with disabilities. Maddy is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Olivia Rodgers

Olivia is from Benton, AR and is going to be a junior at Henderson State University. She is a nursing major, as well as the president of Alpha Sigma Alpha. She is so excited to to teach lessons in Arkadelphia. She loves being able to ensure kiddo’s safety in the water by achieving their goals and having fun! She is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI).

Kylie McCarty

Kylie is originally from Texas, which is where she began her swimming career. She has called Arkadelphia home for 4 years while attending HSU. She began her college career swimming for the Red Wave swim team and growing her love for teaching safe swimming. Kylie has previously taught swim lessons in Texas and is so excited to continue teaching in Arkadelphia. Kylie plans to become a professional pilot in the future! 

Madi Murray

Madi is excited to teach lessons in Arkadelphia after having previously taught lessons in Texas. She is on the Henderson State University swim team and is a Health and Human Performance major. She looks forward to making a difference in children’s lives and ensuring water safety. Madi is a certified Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Ryann Grasser

Ryann has been swimming since she can remember but started competitively at the age of 5. She has been teaching swim lessons for the last few years. She is currently in her third year on the HSU swim team. Ryann is so excited to continue teaching lessons in Arkadelphia and work with kiddos in the community! She is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Conway Instructors

Anna Marvin

Anna swam competitively during high school and has been teaching lessons for 5 years. She began teaching lessons in Northwest Arkansas, and is excited to continue teaching in Conway. She is a junior at UCA as a pre-physical therapy student. She is incredibly passionate about teaching swim safety skills and cannot wait to teach others. Anna is a lifeguard at the HPER center and is Water Safety Instructor Certified (WSI).

Catie Brewer

Catie is from Conway and she is currently a sophomore at UCA. Catie grew up around water and is excited to continue educating young swimmers. She understand the importance of water safety and can’t wait to work with children in the community. She is currently a lifeguard at the UCA HPER and is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Kendall Fillipino

Kendall is from Conway, AR and is so excited to give back to her community by teaching lessons! She is a sophomore majoring in nursing at UCA. She has been a lifeguard for four years and previously taught swim lessons. She loves to work with all kiddos to make sure they reach their goals of being safe in the water. She loves teaching swim lessons and is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Oren Smith

Oren is a senior at UCA majoring in Nurtition Science with a double minor in chemistry and family & consumer sciences with an emphasis in child abuse prevention. Oren has been swimming since he was 4 years old, although he never took it up competitively. He is certified as an American Red Cross Lifeguard and Lifeguard Instructor in CPR/AED. He has taught lessons previously and is so excited to begin teaching in Conway. He cannot wait to work with children to ensure safety around the pool. Oren is also a certified Water Safety Instructor (WSI).

Marlena Tharnish

Marlena has a unique swimming background and is so excited to join us in teaching lessons at UCA. She learned to swim as an adult after finding an interest in triathalons after previously competing in marathons. Marlena loves to teach all people to swim from 6 months to adults. She understands how to work with kiddos, since she has 6 wonderful blessing of her own. She cannot wait to continue her love for teaching everyone how important it is to be safe in the water. She is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI), as well as a lifeguard and lifeguard instructor (LGI).

Sheridan Milewski

Sheridan is from Illinois and attended UCA to earn her Bachelor’s degree. She is currently getting her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at UCA. She is passionate about ensuring that all children have access to swim lessons. She grew up on the water and loves to encourage safety while having fun. Sheridan is certified as a Water Safety Instructor (WSI). 

Samuel Campos

Sam is originally from Brazil where he first started his swimming career and later went on to play water polo for the Brazilian Men’s team. When he moved to the United States, he was employed as a lifeguard and remains an active lifeguard at the UCA HPER. Sam has worked with children and adults in the pool and has a passion for working with others. He is a senior majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry with a pre-medical concentration. He is trilingual in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and is a certified Water Safety Instructor (WSI).