Swim Instructors and Swimming Teachers

Little Otter employs swim instructors who love kids, and water too! The swim teachers here truly love their jobs, and it shows in the quality of the swim instruction taking place in our swim classes every day at Little Otter. We are proud of our swimming teachers, and know that parents will feel confident that their child is carefully instructed while in the pool. The biographies below are to introduce you to the wonderful swimming instructors that are teaching classes at Little Otter. Please take a moment to get to know us!

Sara Bristow

Sara was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Family Living. She moved to Charlotte in August 2007 and joined the Little Otter swim instructor family in June of 2008. Sara was a competitive swimmer for 9 years and loves being in the water.
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Sherri Buzard

Sherri joined Little Otter in November 2004 as our Office Manager. She is one of our “Little Otter Originals”. Little Otter Swim School could not have come this far without her! Sherri was born in Pennsylvania and she graduated with a BA in Management and Psychology from Cedar Crest College. Prior to moving to Charlotte, she owned and operated Heritage South, a commercial art consulting firm in Columbia, South Carolina for 18 years.
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Victoria Damasco (Tori)

Victoria Damaso, Tori to her friends, grew up in Florida by the beach. She always loved the water and would use any excuse to go swimming. Training and working at different summer camps as a lifeguard and counselor she also learned to teach others to swim. Majoring in Early Childhood Education, she loves working with kids and is hoping to have a chance to share the things that she loves with them.
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Sheila Fields

Sheila is one of our native Charlotteans. She graduated from East Mecklenburg High School before pursuing a Birth through Kindergarten degree from Western Carolina University. After graduation from college, she began teaching preschool in the Charlotte area. She has been a swimmer since she was younger, so she decided to join two of her greatest loves, teaching and swimming and become a swimming teacher at Little OtterSwim School.
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Kathryn Foster

Kathryn Foster was born in High Point, NC in 1989 on her father’s birthday. At the ripe age of 5, she joined the Sheraton Hills swim team, as her sister had done, and loved it. Kathryn loved the competition and the fellowship involved in swim meets. She participated for two years on the high school swim team. Kathryn is currently enrolled at UNC-Charlotte, studying Psychology and Social Work.
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Yancy Guzman

Yancy Guzman was born in California, but has lived in Charlotte for the past five years. She currently attends South Mecklenburg High School and loves children! She has been playing soccer since the age of twelve, ranging from competitive soccer to recreational soccer. Yancy’ grandmother was the one who taught her how to swim, and to this day, her 76 year old grandma still loves to swim!
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Jenna Hill

Jenna Hill was born and raised in the Charlotte/Matthews area and graduated from Butler High School in 2007. After attending UNC Pembroke for two years, she has transferred to UNC Charlotte to pursue a degree in Finance. Growing up, Jenna always loved the water, though she never swam competitively. Jenna loves helping people with any questions they have at the front desk, and greeting them with a smile!
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Rachel Ingram

Rachel comes from a family of six children: 3 boys and 3 girls, spanning 14 years from youngest to oldest. Rachel has always had a special place in her heart for kids, which is what originally drew her to Little Otter Swim School. Her aquatics experience includes multiple seasons on the Simmons YMCA swim team. Rachel plans to pursue a degree in early childhood development upon graduating.
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Stewart Isaacs

Stewart Isaacs serves as Aquatics Director of the Little Otter Swim School. Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, he now calls Charlotte his home. While attending Davidson College (graduated in 2005), Stewart grew fond of the warm southern climate and the Charlotte/Lake Norman culture and way of life. In the past, he has served as a lifeguard, pool manager, water skiing instructor, sailing instructor, and camp counselor.
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Lory Kirk

Lory has been teaching children for as long as she can remember! She graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Elementary Education and later added a degree in Early Childhood at the University of Central Florida. She taught school in Titusville, Florida as well as Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to her love of teaching children, she enjoys sports and has coached and judged gymnastics, soccer and swimming.
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John Kirk

John grew up in Charlotte and learned to swim at the Johnston YMCA many years ago. This grew into a lifelong love of the water eventually leading to SCUBA diving certification and many hours on the water in boats ranging from kayaks to offshore racing boats. John received his degree from Appalachian State University. John and his wife Lory spent 2 years dreaming about opening Little Otter. They traveled around the country and gathered the best ideas to open their school.
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Karen Majercsik

Karen first came to Little Otter as a parent in the Otter Baby I class. After experiencing Little Otter for a year as a parent, she decided to come on board as a teacher. Karen has lived in Charlotte since 2006, after moving here from the Washington DC area. Karen has a degree in social work and has many years of experience working with children and adults with special learning needs.
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Heather Melton

Heather Melton began her aquatics career as a second generation swim instructor at Suttle’s Puddle in Charlotte over twenty years ago. While attending Queens University, where she earned her BA in Organizational Communication in 1998, Heather developed a passion for training and education. She has a natural rapport with children and builds confidence with her students using positive reinforcement techniques.
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Richard Micham

Richard Micham is a recent graduate of Berry College, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Originally from Canton, GA, Richard competitively swam since he was four years old. When Richard is not swimming, he loves doing anything outdoors, especially mountain biking and rock climbing. Richard moved to Charlotte in January of 2010, and is enjoying everything the city has to offer.
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Megan Newlin

Megan Newlin has lived in Matthews, North Carolina her entire life. She grew up working with young children, helping her mother who is a preschool teacher. In the summers during Megan’s childhood, she would spend the whole day at the local pool, and Little Otter was the perfect place to combine Megan’s two loves—children and swimming. Megan returns to Little Otter during university breaks from Appalachian State.
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Victoria Norton

Victoria Norton is from the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and is one of 5 children. She moved to Tennessee as a child where she quickly got involved in team sports, including the local swim team. She swam competitively throughout elementary and middle school. Victoria is an honors graduate of Georgetown College in Kentucky. She comes to Little Otter teaching all of our levels offered.
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Christl Ray

Christl has hit the trifecta being a swim instructor! She enjoys the water, loves children, and delights in teaching. She taught swim lessons for a year and half in Portland, Oregon at Children of the Sea Swim School and at Nike world headquarters. Christl came on board as a teacher at Little Otter in the spring of 2007. For her, this is a precious opportunity to be involved in the lives of the Little Otter students and families.
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Michael Rice

Mike was born and raised in Ohio until moving to Charlotte in 1997 and is an alumnus of The Ohio State University. From a very young age (nicknamed “Fish” by his family), Mike loved the water. Having started competitive swimming in summer leagues and he continued to swim competitively until completing High School in 1990. Mike came to Little Otter as a parent 3 1/2 years ago with his son Dominic, who is still a Little Otter student.
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Sarah Robbins

Sarah Robbins is one of our few natives from the Charlotte area! Sarah graduated from Butler High School in 2009, and she is currently attending school at CPCC. Sarah came to realize one of her true main loves in life is spending time with kids. Little Otter has become one of her favorite places to be and she is very grateful to be a part of the company!
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Shawnee Robinson

Shawnee Robinson is a very unique individual. She graduated from King’s College with honors, at the age of 17. Shawnee has had the privilege of volunteering in several programs where she assisted young children in the process of learning and growing through hands on activities. Shawnee has learned a lot about working with young children and that knowledge has translated into her excellent teaching here at Little Otter.
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Laurel Routledge

Laurel Routledge was born in Miami, Florida, and has just recently moved to North Carolina. Laurel was on the swim team at Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She later became a swim instructor at Quality Swimming at Discovery Preschool, which she enjoyed doing for six years. She has an Associate degree in early childhood and has achieved her Water Safety Instruction certificate.
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Robin Varner

Robin, a new-comer to Charlotte, was raised in Greenville, SC. She received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Appalachian State University in 2009. Robin swam competitively year-round for thirteen years in high school, as well as in college. She has a love for water sports, including barefoot skiing and water skiing. She loves children and hopes to one day work as a pediatric nurse.
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