LYNN – Sarah Moore counts her blessings.In seven years as a lifeguard at YMCAs and summer camps in Massachusetts and Maine, she hasn’t had to rescue anyone. She wants to keep it that way.”I practice prevention in lifeguarding. I’m pretty strict with the rules and I want my guards to be the same way,” said Moore, 23, of Topsfield, who recently was hired as aquatics director at the Greater Lynn YMCA. “I’d rather have my swimmers think I’m a jerk than have something bad happen.”Moore graduated from the Maine College of Art in Portland in 2006 with a bachelor of fine arts degree. Although she has mastered various new media applications, including video, Web site design and flash animation, her passion has remained more waterborne.”Every once in a while I do some graphics work on the side, but right now, I’m concentrating on aquatics,” she said. “I’ve been lifeguarding for seven years and it’s something I really enjoy.”Her lifeguard resume includes stints at YMCAs in Danvers, Beverly, Lowell and Portland, Maine. “I was notified about the job in Lynn by my previous boss in Lowell,” she said. “I was already familiar with Lynn Y because my father, Russ, used to swim here when he worked at Eastern Bank.”In addition to lifeguarding at YMCAs, Moore also worked at Camp Pennacook for Girl Scouts in Rowley and at Hidden Valley Camp in Freedom, Maine.”Those were outdoor lifeguarding experiences,” she said. “When you’re guarding outside, the water tends to be cloudier, so you have to do a continuous count of heads in the water. Luckily I’ve never had to do a lost camper search in the water, which is when you have to scan the entire waterfront and then dive down every couple of feet to make sure they’re not on the bottom.”Moore’s affinity with water began at Masconomet Regional High School where she was a member of the swim team. “I liked the 500-yard event because it was a requirement for lifeguarding,” she said.The college art degree has already come in handy. “I’m decorating billboards and working on making the swim area better looking, which is all part of making the program more accessible,” she said, noting that some YMCA swim programs attract up to 600 participants, while in Lynn there are about 30.”I’ve changed the swim lessons from a half hour twice a week to once a week for 45 minutes. The longer time period is more effective,” she said, explaining that swim lessons are for anyone from 8 months old to adult.Registration is now open for the six-week session that starts Jan. 14 and a lap lane is reserved in the pool for those who simply want to exercise.Certified as a lifeguard by the YMCA and the American Red Cross, Moore’s training includes CPR, AED (using a defibrillator), administering oxygen, and completing a course in lifeguarding for the professional rescuer. She hopes others will follow a similar path.”We have a program coming up here in Lynn for people interested in lifeguarding but not sure if they are up to it physically and maybe think they can’t pass the test. We’ll prepare for the written test and have weekly workouts,” she said.The free six-week lifeguard training course starts Jan. 21. Sessions will be held twice a week – on Mondays from 5-6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12:30-1:30 p.m.”Anybody over age 16 can take it,” said Moore. “It’s a great way to prepare for a summer job that pays well, and we’re in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation.”The DCR oversees state beaches and swimming areas, and as a result hires seasonal lifeguards at $10-$14 an hour, depending on experience.”If you’re a lifeguard you can get a job anywhere in the country,” she said, noting that her second job as a nanny for two children in Lincoln came about because the parents were impressed by her lifeguard experience. “Now that I’m in Lynn full time, I’ll be transitioning out of that job, which I’ve had for the past year.”The YMCA will hold an open house on Martin Luther King Day, offering swim lessons, a raffle and refreshm