Gilbert’s Mikaela Rice is the founder and creator of Kids in the Water, a new online course with step-by-step video tutorials designed to show parents how to teach their children to swim confidently and safely. “I created Kids in the Water because I want parents to be more actively involved in teaching their children how to swim–not as a replacement for swim lessons and swim schools–but as an additional and powerful resource to support their children in learning how to swim.” Learn about Mikaela Rice…
Follow at: @kidsinthewater
Hometown: I was born and raised in Southern California, moved to Arizona to attend Arizona State University and never left. I now live in Gilbert with my husband and our three children – ages 4 and a half, 3 and 1.
First job: Swim instructor
Favorite ways to spend your free time in AZ: In the water! Being in the pool and spending time at the lake.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Creating a water-safety Instagram video with my husband that reached more than 1 million people! Knowing that it’s possible that 1 million children might be a little bit safer around water, having had a parent be educated on water safety, brings me so much pride and joy. I love knowing that we have done our part in helping to keep children safer around water.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: Creating a business while raising three kids. I have loved being a stay-at-home mom for the last five years. But I felt a huge calling to make a difference in pool and water safety. After COVID, many kids missed out on swim lessons. And the drowning statistics haven’t improved in years. I wanted my kids, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends to be able to have another resource to educate themselves and their children on water safety and how to swim. Creating that resource while still prioritizing my family was more challenging than I imagined. It took a lot of late nights working while the kids were sleeping and filming while the kids were napping to create this business.
Someone who inspires you and why: My grandma, Lois Rice! (OK, she’s actually my husband’s grandmother, but I claim her as my own.) She’s an incredible woman, friend, leader, sister and mother. She created a large, beautiful family starting with her three sons and now she has dozens of grandkids and great grandkids while still making waves in the corporate world. She did it all gracefully and with compassion.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Find the joy in it. When the days are long and difficult, do one of two things: No. 1, remember your purpose. Remember you have an opportunity to help potentially save a life by teaching a life-saving skill. Or No. 2, reset. If you have forgotten your purpose, stop and just spend time with your kids in the water. When you have joy in what you do, it makes what you do a lot more pleasing and rewarding.
Favorite quote: “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.” –Malala Yousafzai
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: People are always shocked to hear my worst fear. It’s birds! I’d rather be placed in a pit with spiders or snakes, than in a room filled with birds. I am definitely not a bird fan.
What makes someone fabulous: When someone is kind, compassionate and decides to follow their dreams. The world is definitely in need of more kindness in it and when someone sets out to do good in the world, that truly makes someone fabulous.