Karen Gaba - A Life Dedicated to Living Karen Gaba, like everyone else in life, was not entirely sure what she wanted to do with her life when the time finally came to make big decisions about which direction to take in life. Many people grow up pursuing their passions and interests hoping to one day make a career out of them, but few ever seem to find such luck. Sometimes it takes going down an entirely different path than you set out on to find the one you were meant to pursue all along. Karen Gaba started swimming competitively when she was just five years old, an age that most would consider a bit young to be doing anything competitively. But Karen’s intentions were clearer than the waters that she swam in; she wanted to swim all the time. Her parents recognized her passion early and put her on a junior swim team. Finding that Karen wasn’t satisfied in the offseason, her parents put her on a year-round swim team, allowing her to pursue her passion every day. She would continue to swim throughout high school, but after graduation she stumbled upon a crossroads; pursue further education and seek a position in Physical Education or take the surefire job that would lead to financial stability and being gainfully employed. It is a choice that most of us would not hesitate to make, choosing the path with the clearest destination, and that’s what Karen Gaba did, she took the secure route. But when her company decided to relocate almost twelve years later, Karen would find herself at another crossroad trying to figure out just what to do next. Karen decided that she had already spent enough time doing something that she wasn’t entirely interested in; she wanted to find her passion again. She enrolled in classes at East Stroudsburg University, majoring in Health and Physical Education. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in 1997 and by 1999 would land her first job as an assistant swim coach for Tappan Zee High School. She would find herself as Varsity Swim Coach for Tappan Zee High by 2002 and would lead the boys’ swim team to an 18-4 record and consecutive Rockland County Championship titles, no easy feat. Nine years later, Karen Gaba would be coaching for the Chatham School District, where she would find even more success as head swim coach. She led the girls’ team to an undefeated season of 19-0 giving the school a Morris County Championship, a Central Division Championship, and the State Championship in 2011-2012. To get more information about Karen Gaba visit at http://karen-gaba.wallinside.com/