By Jon Chown
Heroic lifeguard Ryder Williams plans to become a firefighter one day, the 16-year-old Santa Cruz County resident told President Donald Trump while being honored at the White House on Aug. 17.
Williams appeared alongside the president during a news conference in the Oval Office. A reporter asked Williams what he was thinking that day and how it might shape his future. He said he relied on his training to handle the situation.
Ryder Williams
“I was thinking about how to get the boy out of water as fast as I can,” he said. “As far as shaping my future, I want to be a firefighter in the future. Hopefully go through paramedic school.”
Williams was also asked what the public should take away from this.
“Try to help more people; try to look out for everybody around you and just try to help everybody out as much as they can,” he said.
The president was obviously impressed with Williams and the video of his rescue.
“Everybody saw it, and you’d watch it over and over. I know when I first saw it, I said, ‘Roll that back. I want to see that again. Is that really happening?’” Trump said of the video, taken July 25 at Seabright State Beach. In it, Williams, who works as a California State Parks lifeguard, saves the life of a young boy, holding on to him despite intense, pounding waves. Fellow lifeguard Aaron Bohnen eventually helps them both to shore.
“This was an unbelievable experience,” the president said, adding that he has always respected lifeguards “but never so much as I do now.”
Also present were Shane Williams, Ryder’s father; Shannon Johnson, Ryder’s mother; Bohnen, the California State Parks lifeguard who assisted in the rescue; Alex Luscutoff, chief of California State Parks’ Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Division; Justin McHenry, assistant chief of aquatics and lifeguard operations for California State Parks; and Mike McMenamy, State Parks superintendent for the Santa Cruz District.
McHenry had several exchanges with the president. When Trump asked if he was responsible for the training, McHenry replied that he helps oversee and guide the training program, which trains about 200 lifeguards per year. Lifeguards can start at age 16.
“That’s a lot to do for a 16-year-old. That’s not easy,” Trump said.
“It’s a huge responsibility, and it requires a lot of integrity and resilience,” McHenry answered, pointing out that Williams’ rescue showed both.
“It’s so exciting to see something like this happen. He’s a real hero,” Trump said. “I don’t know if I’d do it. I wouldn’t probably.”
Trump was asked if he supported the current push to recognize lifeguards as first responders. He said he wasn’t aware that the issue was before Congress, but it sounded like a good idea.
“I’d like to put my weight behind it,” he said. “So let’s take a look at it.”
In an email days after the visit, McHenry said he didn’t know what to expect but welcomed the opportunity to have the conversation. The group met privately with the president before and after the news conference. McHenry said Trump was more candid with the group in private and “seemed genuinely interested in our lifeguard operations and the challenges that working in the dynamic ocean environment present on a daily basis.”
McHenry said Williams did an outstanding job during the rescue.
“The challenging conditions on that day at Seabright State Beach would have been difficult for even the most experienced lifeguard staff. As a first-year lifeguard at 16 years of age, his actions and response to the rescue are commendable,” McHenry said. “Not all rescues rise to this high-stakes level where there is no room for error, but lifeguards in California and around the nation are making life-and-death rescues on a daily basis. Ryder has done an excellent job staying focused on lifeguarding in the wake of the attention following the viral social media video of his rescue. His humility and understanding for his representation of lifeguarding as a profession has not gone unnoticed.”