Karen Muha On any given day, you can walk along ‘Main Street’ at the Somerset Hills YMCA and you will see a very energetic young woman in or out of the pool, leading exercises in front of a class full of smiling faces and flotation devices.   Karen Muha is a certified aquatics teacher at the Somerset Hills YMCA and teaches seniors cardio and strength training in the pool three times a week. Karen and the participants have so much fun while exercising and have adopted the motto: “We look good all year round!” Karen is also co-chair and a volunteer instructor of S.W.I.M. Inc. (Specialized Water Interest Movement), a program for adults with muscular impairment who have difficulty exercising on dry land. Karen never stops chatting and laughing with program participants and she has become, for many, the life and soul of the YMCA and the reason they keep coming back. Wherever Karen goes, there is happiness and warmth... but that wasn’t always the case.   In August 2008, with two young children, a husband in job transition, and her father struggling with kidney cancer, Karen had quite simply become the caretaker of others, as if she had completely lost her own identity. Caring for her family day after day and lending them physical and mental support had taken its toll. That was when Karen realized, ‘I’ve got to get a life. I am completely worn-out.’ When the day arrived for Ben, her youngest child, to climb on the school bus for his first day of school, Karen decided it was time to regain her sense of self and she joined the Somerset Hills YMCA.   After meeting and spending time with staff during her visits, Karen began to volunteer, assisting at the annual Strong Kids Golf Classic and volunteering for projects with Sylvia Velez, Kate Russo and Laurie Reynolds. Then Karen discovered aquatics, fell in love with the activity and began to volunteer in that department. Karen took a few First Aid, CPR and training courses and finally became a part time employee teaching swimming classes. She gradually began to feel better about herself and, she believes, was a better mother and wife because of it. When her doctor found a tumor in her kidney, Karen felt strong enough emotionally and physically (thanks to her involvement at the YMCA) to weather the storm. She feels so lucky - it was benign and her prognosis is excellent.   Karen looks back on the challenges she has faced and says, “Without the Y, I would have been completely lost. Eighteen months ago, I never would have believed that I could feel empowered to stand up in front of a group of people and talk to them about how to turn your life around, but now I’m actually considering it! The Somerset Hills YMCA has given me renewed purpose, hope and energy. They really do build strong kids, strong families and strong communities – I am the proof of that!”