Inna Gudiyev

Surfside in the Land of Opportunity

Inna Gudiyev
Florida Community College, Class of 2008

Inna Gudiyev was born in Eastern Europe, in a de facto republic just south of the Russian border known as South Ossetia. When political upheaval shook the region in 1991, Inna’s family immigrated to the United States. They arrived in California but moved several times up the West Coast. As with most events in her life, Inna saw the bright side of all the moving. “I attended a different school every year; with this constant change of environments I learned to adapt with efficient ease,” she says.

After graduating from high school in Oregon, Inna earned a scholarship to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She supported herself by working at a hostel and managing a surf shop in the evenings. An avid swimmer since childhood, Inna loved Hawaii. “I surfed daily and lived the island lifestyle,” she says.

After three years in Hawaii, Inna’s life took an abrupt turn as she decided to move with a boyfriend to California. The romance fizzled, and Inna decided to make a fresh start. Her parents were now living in Florida, and urged her to join them. Scouting potential schools for her daughter, Inna’s mother suggested Florida Community College.

Arriving in Jacksonville with just enough time to register for fall classes, Inna quickly immersed herself in student life. She became a Student Ambassador and tutor, as well as vice president of the Soccer Club. She is now the SGA president for South Campus. It’s through these activities that she’s come to appreciate her school. “I began to see the value that each student has in the eyes of the administration. This feeling of appreciation and concern trickles down to the staff and faculty at every campus.”

Busy as she is, Inna doesn’t let her campus life get in the way of her true love. Immediately after wrapping up the application process, Inna headed for the beach. “I parked right in front of the lifeguard station and asked how I could become a lifeguard.” Fifteen weeks later, after a grueling course of swimming, rescuing “drowning” 250-pound men, running miles with surf boards and numerous psychological and knowledge-based exams, Inna officially became a member of the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps.

Inna is also working this summer as a full-time lifeguard for the City of Jacksonville Beach, and volunteers with the Junior Lifeguard Program, a joint effort of the ARCVLSC and the city’s Ocean Rescue to train youth, ages 11-15, in the skills of active ocean living. She’s also taking the unique opportunity to live in the Corps’ familiar white station at the beach, where she’s the only female among eight male lifeguards. “I love it,” she laughs. “It’s like having eight brothers.”

Her sunny and laid-back island outlook extends to her plans for the future as well. Inna is pursuing her associate in arts degree and plans to major in education, perhaps at Jacksonville University. “I don’t know what turn in the road life will provide me with,” she says. “In an idealistic mindset, I hope to eventually migrate back to the island of Oahu and surf away my days while teaching as a professor at the University of Hawaii in the evenings. Or perhaps I will join the UN and work within the field of politics.”

“The possibilities are truly in the millions range and I hope to always have access to as many opportunities that I could possibly manage or handle. This is the land of opportunity and I have been presented with so many of them. I am truly grateful and excited by everything around me.”

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