Coach Krista is a wife to a Marine, Marine veteran, mom of three children and two dogs, and a lover of fitness. She was born and raised in the beautiful state of Montana where they call a creek a crick and a soda a pop. She joined the Marine Corps after high school, and became an aviation supply specialist.

After one enlistment in the Marine Corps, she chose a different career path and became a contractor with AAR Corps working at the Fleet Readiness Center on the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry point. For her, being married to a Marine means moving often. After six years of living in North Carolina, her husband received orders to MCRD Paris Island. She and her family moved to South Carolina. While in South Carolina she obtained her business administration certificate from Martinsburg College, and pursued a degree in logistics and supply chain management as a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. After three years in South Carolina her and her family moved to Okinawa, Japan.

When first arriving to Okinawa in 2019, she continued working on getting her degree (she is still working towards it) and started searching for quality swimming lessons for her kids. Her kids were ages one, three, and five. Her three-year-old at the time was fearless of the water - of everything really. He reminded her a lot of herself. When she was a kid, she had an unpleasant experience in the water. She did not want her three-year-old or any of her children to experience what she did, but most of all she wanted them to have the skills they needed to safely be around a pool, ocean, etc. She found the Oki Swim Life page and sent a message. She got her three-year-old registered
for lessons first. After watching her son participate in Swim Life lessons she fell in love with the program. She felt so passionately about the program she became an instructor herself.

She believes aquatic skills are an essential skill for everyone to learn. She believes the Swim Life program is an investment in water safety, and she enjoys teaching her students with a gentle, loving, and caring approach.

Sandra's notable certifications and accomplishments are:

• Swim Life Aquatic Education Specialist

• American Red Cross Adult & Pediatric CPR/AED and First Aid

• Business Administration Certification