By Jennifer Jensen
While Jacksonville native Natalie Wells might be part of the team that makes up Oak Wells Aquatics, she didn’t always play such an integral part of the business.
Prior to joining her husband, Ryan, in 2023 as a project consultant, she was an elementary teacher for 16 years.
“I always wanted to be a teacher,” Wells said. “I had two really great ones myself: my middle school composition teacher and my high school English teacher.”
Wells grew up off San Jose, went to Bishop Kenny High School and left Jacksonville to attend Florida State University. She was a creative writing major and decided to pursue a career in education.
After graduating college, she moved to San Diego and worked at a home school charter school as an education consultant.
“I never even knew anything about the home school community, and it was really interesting,” Wells said.
During that time, she learned a lot and was able to consult on curriculum for all grades, which helped her determine that she wanted to work with elementary students.
She moved back to Jacksonville in 2007 and got her first official teaching job at Jacksonville Heights Elementary as a third grade teacher. She stayed there for 12 years. In 2020, she moved to Ortega Elementary School and taught second grade.
“When school started, it was great,” Wells said. “I adored the school children.”
Then COVID hit and school went online, presenting numerous challenges not only as a teacher, but also as a mother of two small children.
“They ripped a screen out of a window while I was teaching and there was nothing I could do about it,” Wells said.
Some of her students also struggled with working online. Some students she saw sporadically and some never made it to class all year.
“Everyone was trying to figure out how to navigate this, especially with younger kids,” she said.
Wells taught at Ortega for two years and then decided it was a time for a change. She started working full time at Oak Wells Aquatics, which designs and constructs pools and spas for residential and commercial properties. Her husband started the business 10 years ago after getting the opportunity to purchase an excavation company. He chose to expand the business and instead of just digging the holes for the pools, started constructing them as well.
“I’ve been there from the very first pool he built until now,” Wells said. “I always teased him and asked if he needed a secretary. And we were like, ‘No, we can’t work together.’”
But two years in, they’ve discovered they were wrong.
“He came home one day, and he knew I was frustrated and said, ‘I have a job for you, and you can work from home,’” Wells said. “I just realized this was best for me personally. I knew it was time for me to leave.”
Wells works on the sales and consulting side of the business. Once a customer decides on a design and signs a contract, the real fun begins.
“I design a pool to fit in their space,” she said.
Being able to design pools caters to her creative side and is something she thoroughly enjoys.
“I also get to meet really nice people,” she said. “I’m going into people’s houses and most are really welcoming.”
The company has seen a boom in the Riverside and Avondale areas.
“I’m kind of claiming it as my own,” Wells said. “I just love this side of town. Adding to the beauty of these homes just makes me super happy.”
When she isn’t busy working, she enjoys spending time with her family, including her children, 8-year-old Grady and 6-year-old Anne Marie.
They moved to Ortega 10 years ago and love this side of town.
“We live on a great street with really great neighbors,” Wells said.
They also enjoy getting outdoors as a family, exploring the state parks.
“We like to expose the kids to outside,” Wells said. “We don’t want the kids sitting inside all day.”
This summer, they flew to Wyoming, rented an RV and spent nine days traveling and exploring places such as Yellowstone National Park.
“We saw grizzly bears, black bears, beavers,” Wells said. “And the kids got to see snow for the first time. We pulled over on the side of the road so they could play in the snow.”
They also attend Mardi Gras each year in New Orleans, which is home to Wells’ sister and offers her siblings and their families a chance to get together and attend the festivities.
“It’s super fun for us and we do it as a family,” she said.
Wells is also very involved at her children’s school. “I try to volunteer and jump in and do all the things,” she said.
She and her family are also big Jaguars and Seminole fans. She is also a part of a fantasy football league with her side of the family. She took home the top prize the first year she played.
“It’s fun and there’s a lot of cash,” she said.