$5,000 Donation Makes Waves for UISD Students Learning to Swim

Posted Date: 07/08/2025

Thanks to a generous $5,000 donation from the family of the late Mr. Carroll E. Summers Jr., 100 United Independent School District students are learning critical water safety and swimming skills at the Carroll E. Summers Jr. Aquatic Center.

Mr. Summers Jr., a lifelong advocate for education and a key figure in the development of UISD’s aquatic programs, was instrumental in securing funding for the district’s first public swimming facility during his time on the UISD Board of Trustees. To honor his legacy, his family pledged the donation in June and committed to continue the gift annually.

“Swimming is a life-saving skill,” said Robert H. Summers. “You might just save one child's life, but if that’s your child, it’s worth the world.” He added that UISD’s swimming programs open doors to new possibilities for local children.

That vision is coming to life this summer through UISD’s growing slate of aquatic programs. The United We Swim camp, designed for elementary students in grades 3–5, teaches basic water exploration, stroke fundamentals, and water safety in 30-minute sessions. With nearly 250 students registered so far, the camp continues through July 31st, and spots remain open for the final two sessions beginning July 7th.

Meanwhile, middle and high school students are diving into more advanced programming through the Swim America and United We Dive camps, open to students in grades 6–12. Held in two-week sessions from June 2nd to July 31st, these programs help students build their swimming and diving skills with daily practices lasting from one to two hours.

Over 100 students have joined Swim America, where they progress from basic survival techniques to competitive-level training in strokes like freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and streamlining. United We Dive offers specialized instruction in diving fundamentals, with each participant required to pass a skills evaluation before learning up to four types of dives by the end of the program.

“We design these programs as foundational pillars that help students apply what they’ve learned to competitive swimming,” said Janelly Mendoza, UISD Aquatics Coordinator.

All camps are held at the Carroll E. Summers Jr. Aquatic Center, a 42,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility. For more information, on the camps contact the Carroll E. Summers Jr. Aquatic Center at (956) 473-6172.

Carroll E. Summers Jr.