FAST MASTERS: WHO'S IN THAT LANE? -- EPISODE 10: JESSICA MERCER

Jessica Mercer was born in Santa Ana and grew up in Fullerton.  She went to Sunny Hills High School and attended USC.  She got a business degree with an emphasis in finance and marketing. She always wanted her own business, and today she has realized that!

Jessica took swim lessons at independence Park before it was named the Janet Evans Swim Complex.  She worked her way up to club swimming and swam for FAST coach Kevin Perry!  She says walking through the lobby is like walking down memory lane with the team pictures on the wall.  Jessica recounts that swimming has been always hard but has made her the person she is today.  Kevin Perry's 3.5-hour workouts were brutal!  In her senior year of high school her lung collapsed (spontaneous pneumothorax) and she notes that this is quite common among tall people.  It took about a month to heal and trying to get back into shape after that was just too hard.  She decided not to swim in college.  At that time, she felt she just needed a break.  She left swimming for 13 years but has been back at Masters for about 10 years.  She started back under Coach Kyle Knoff whom she swam club as a teammate with.

Jessica is married to her husband Kyle who enjoys surfing, and they have two boys.  Reid is 13 and swims in the FAST Varsity group, and Noah is 11 and enjoys soccer!  This family is the best thing in her life!  Being a mom is a hard job but probably the most rewarding, too.  It can be extremely hard to get up for Masters.  She likes to sleep, and it seems like no matter how early she goes to bed, the alarm always goes off too soon.

Jessica owns her own business – Steller Estate Sales.  She helps people liquidate their estates.  She states that the most common scenarios are if someone passes away, is downsizing, or is moving.  She works with a lot of realtors and says that FAST Masters  swimmer Kathy Lany is one of the best she's ever met!

Jessica loves her job because it makes her schedule very flexible and because she really enjoys helping people.  She says it's hard for some as an emotional experience, but “I always tell my clients that their belongings or their loved ones’ belongings are going to new homes to be loved by someone else.”  She loves the sustainability aspect of her job.  Jessica feels there is too much waste in this world, and the more things we can keep out of a landfill the better!

Jessica has a healthy hope for the future which is that we all slow down a little bit.  She feels that everyone is so busy rushing around doing so many things that it's getting to be too much.  She also feels that everyone can find something they love to do or makes them feel good, and they should do it.  She wants the world to be a kinder place!

Jessica also thinks that FAST Masters swimmers should have a few more social meet ups.  She suggests maybe one evening a month to meet up after work – just a thought.  But with everyone so busy with family and work and commitments, that may not be realistic.  She is up for anyone making an effort to get the group together outside of the water.

Jessica thanked me for doing "Who's in That Lane?”  She thinks it's really cool to read about people’s lives and what brought them to Masters.  She says it's hard to chat a lot at swimming, so this is a great way to learn about people in our group!

Thanks Jessica for your time!