Rosa Swatzell proud to serve others

Rosa Swatzell, 16, knows what she wants, knows where she’s going, and is well on her way there. She has chosen a career that serves others and has mapped out her college plans in order to become a physician’s assistant.

Even now she serves young girls by teaching them the graceful sport of Irish step dancing.

“I decided to do this to motivate girls to stay healthy, and occupy their time with a wholesome yet demanding sport,” she said. St. Patrick’s School of Irish Dance is in her Liberty Lake home. She has about 30 students; the youngest is almost 5 and the oldest is 19. They dance on a floor that Rosa laid along with her father, Mike Swatzell.

Rosa’s students embroider their own costumes, but rarely compete. “It’s not about competing,” Rosa said, “but health and happiness.”

Rosa explains that the true purpose of Irish Dance is to keep one’s spirits up. She will be performing with her students at Art on the Green in Coeur d’Alene on Aug. 5.

Besides teaching five classes a week, Rosa also takes lessons three times a week at the Haran School of Irish Dance on the South Hill. She has been studying the dance for 10 years and teaching for two. Rosa also has been studying guitar for the past two years.

Her other hobbies include snowboarding, knee boarding, tubing, and water-skiing, and she enjoys buzzing around the lake in her 1952 Pacific Mariner that she purchased with money she earned working for her dad when she was 13.

Rosa, who skipped a grade, will be graduating next year from St. Dominic’s School in Post Falls. What she has learned so far and what she plans on learning in the medical field will enable her to continue to serve others.

She urges others to, “Do something productive with your time and you will see the fruits of your labor … pray for strength and set an example for the people around you and they will follow.”