COVID Pandemic Spurs Livingston Teen, A Junior Olympian, To Found Swim School

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Prisha Bhargava, a Livingston teen who has qualified for the Junior Olympics, quickly noticed the negative psychological effects of the COVID-19 quarantine three years ago.

During the summer of 2021, she began giving swim lessons to help people of all ages focus on their health and exercise.

Soon after, Bhargava, now incoming captain Livingston High School's swim team, founded what she calls the Oasis Swim School.

This summer will be her third summer offering lessons along with other instructors.

“As an outgoing person and an avid swimmer, I struggled greatly during the COVID-19 quarantine,” Bhargava said recently. “My outlet for self-care is swimming, and I went from swimming daily to not swimming for months. While dealing with that experience, I realized how impactful physical fitness and socialization are on people’s overall mental health.”

Bhargava, a 2019 qualifier for the Junior Olympics, became motivated to discover more about the effects of physical fitness on teenagers’ psychological health. She did extensive research on the topic and, that summer, undertook a mission to help her community members improve their emotional, psychological, and social well-being.

“During the pandemic, my kids were forced to stay inside our house with absolutely no activities,” said local mother Jyoti Rao, who enrolled both her children in lessons at Oasis during the pandemic. “I noticed immediately how this negatively had an impact on their well being and I
immediately sought to find the safest option to get them out and about again."

She added, "Oasis Swim School was perfect, as it was outdoors, and I noticed very soon after enrolling my kids in lessons with Prisha that they already showed signs of improvement mental health wise and physically. They seemed happy again!”

Bhargava, an aspiring psychiatrist, is no stranger to educating herself and others on the medical profession.

She has over 180 hours of volunteer work at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center; she’s a member of LHS’s Health Occupations Students of America club, and she founded the LHS Medical Speaker Series, a partnership with Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.

According to Bhargava, “Many LHS students are interested in the medical profession and want to learn more about a day in the life of surgeons, pediatric physicians, psychiatrists, nurses, and other careers. I facilitated the partnership with Barnabas and moderated panels of their doctors and staff who revealed exactly what they do.”

Bhargava enjoyed all these activities, but the swim school was the culmination of her two passions.

Expanding To Other Populations

In the past two summers, she has hired up to five additional swim instructors to meet the increasing demand for lessons. The school has also expanded to serve more than just local residents.

“I was approached about offering lessons to children with disabilities,” said Bhargava. “I immediately said yes. I believe in providing equal opportunities and resources to all, so I reworked the schedule and was among the first local instructors to devote a weeknight solely to special needs children.”

For more information about Oasis Swim School, visit https://www.oasisswimschool.co... or
send an email to inquiries@oasisswimschool.com.