From learning to breathe underwater to taking trips to Florida, Southeast’s Scuba Club offers lots of opportunities for adventure. SEMO’s Scuba Club hosted its Discover Scuba Club event at the Southeast Aquatic Center Saturday, Feb. 12.
At the event, club members and interested students learned how to dive, breathe underwater and properly put on scuba gear.
Participants filled out a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Discover Scuba Diving Participant Statement upon arrival. This statement gave a brief description of the event and ensured everyone was medically able to dive.
Cape Dive and Travel partners with Scuba Club each semester and allows members and interested students to learn scuba diving. Cape Dive and Travel is a local diving shop that sells gear, air tank refills and teaches interested customers how to become diving certified.
Nia Rivers is a sophomore at Southeast and from a diving town in Florida. This was her first Scuba Club event at SEMO. Rivers said her uncle is diving certified, and he has always encouraged her to try the activity.
“I’ve always wanted to scuba dive for a long time now,” Rivers said. “I thought it’d be cool to try something new, and I’m excited to gain a new experience.”
Rivers said she found the club on SE Link while browsing for something new to try this year.
Open water scuba instructor Carol Jordan is a divemaster and instructor for divers working to become certified. Jordan became a Divemaster in 2013; in 2019, she became an instructor. She has been diving for 11 years.
Jordan leads the members in the discovery groups by first showing students how to properly put on the scuba gear. Jordan also allows attendees to play in the water before demonstrating the proper technique for how to breathe underwater.
“We are very fortunate to be able to teach a lot of classes through this aquatic center,” Jordan said. “I wish I had learned to scuba dive when I was younger; it is my happy place and allows me to relax and enjoy my time underwater.”
Jordan teaches the proper way to install scuba gear, the fundamentals of scuba diving and how to breathe underwater with an air tank.
Discover Scuba is an alternative to a traditional Scuba Club meeting. A typical Scuba Club meeting is a conversation about diving, equipment and planning large trips for members.
The club hosts the Discover Scuba Club event twice a semester to allow non-members the chance to try scuba diving, in hopes of boosting their membership.
President of the Scuba Club Sierra Skinner said the club is trying to revive itself after losing most of its members due to the pandemic or graduation.
“This year, we are putting more of an emphasis on river clean-up to make sure our oceans are good for diving and reduce the pollution in rivers and oceans,” Skinner said.
The club is currently planning their trip to Florida for members at the end of this year. This is their first planned trip to Florida in two years.
For more information on the Scuba Club of SEMO, visit their Instagram or Facebook. The club also meets over Zoom the last Monday of each month. To become scuba diving certified, contact Cape Dive and Travel.
