Growing up in Nebraska, scuba diving was never really something we talked about, the only ocean-esque thing we had was the never-ending sea of cornfields. My first time on scuba was a discover scuba in a pool when I was 10 years old while vacationing in Florida. My desire to get certified was the only thing my 10-year-old brain could think about…for about a week then something else shiny caught my attention.

              Flashforward to 2010 when I came into Underwater Safaris to sign up for confined water. Instantly, I knew I wanted to keep diving and take more classes. The following year I did my Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver and wanted to keep doing more. My original plan was to become a divemaster and stay there but shortly after finishing the course I knew I wanted to continue as a full instructor and work with students more.
              In May 2013, I passed my instructor exam on a Sunday and was teaching my first confined water class the following Monday. In the decade plus of teaching, I have earned the Master Instructor rating. I continue to teach at Underwater Safaris; everything from Open Water diver through Assistant Instructor as well as plenty of specialty courses including Deep diver, Wreck diver, and Zombie Survivalist diver.

              Since getting certified, I have been diving on all seven continents and am now trying to dive in all 50 states, the 5 US territories and the 5 Great Lakes. Presently, I have completed 28/55 of the states and territories, and 2/5 of the Great Lakes. Some of my most memorable dives include the diving with fur seals in Antarctica, finding 2mm long nudibranchs in the Philippines, and an abandoned Titan 1 nuclear missile complex in Washington.

I look forward to sharing the underwater world with you!