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Kids get a chance to dive deep in career choices

By Clare Jensen

On May 3, future scuba divers of America can get submerged in the many career paths of aquatic professions at Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

The Deep Ambitions Career Fair coincides with the Dive & Travel Expo – the first event of its kind in Tacoma in the past 25 years.

While the expo is geared toward the 26,000 scuba divers who plunge into Tacoma’s portion of Puget Sound each year, the career fair is intended to broaden students’ perceptions on what types of career opportunities are available to them.

Rick Stratton, event director and publisher of Northwest Dive News, said the purpose of the career fair is to get “kids excited about future occupations, no matter what,” but specifically, to get them excited about working in aquatic fields.

“In the dive industry, there’s a lot of grey hair,” Stratton joked.

Deep Ambitions is a free, four-hour aquatics career fair that showcases marine-related careers and dive lifestyles to youth ages 12 to 18.

Participants will be able to see and hear about a variety of “cool jobs” ranging from dive instruction, traveling sales representatives, dive resort reviewers, marine journalists and artists.

Students and their parents will also be able to tour the dive expo, meet scuba professionals, try scuba for themselves in an on-site heated pool and enjoy an art session with renowned artist Rogest, who will talk with each group about art and the underwater environment.

The art piece will later be auctioned off during the Expo’s film festival and the money will fund diver scholarship programs.

“We want to encourage young people not only to take up the sport, but to be the future of the industry,” Stratton said.

He noted that work in the diving industry can supplement a full-time career, or help pay for college expenses.

Stratton added that even though he has been working in the dive industry as a publisher for the past 12 years, his own children will be attending the event.

“It’s going to present a different side to the industry that will get their eyes open to something they never expected.”

Truxton Terkla owns TL Sea Diving in Seattle. He is eager to share his experiences with young people considering a career in the industry.

“It is fantastic. I never thought in a million years I would be doing this,” he said of scuba diving. “It is one of the most relaxing things you could ever do.”

Terkla said scuba divers are able to get a whole new perspective on the world around them through the time they spend under water. “You learn what makes everything tick.”

TL Sea Diving focuses on training as opposed to selling gear. It offers courses on fish identification and many other topics.

Terkla got involved with the Tacoma event through his membership in Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It held a video competition last year that drew about 150 entries from around North America. He took first place, and organizers of the expo invited him to show the short film, do a presentation on travel and scuba and speak with youth about career opportunities.

“I never thought of doing this as a profession,” Terkla said of pondering career options as a youth. “It is such a great feeling to be under water. It really reaches your soul.”

Deep Ambitions Aquatics Career Fair is part of a nationally-sponsored program and has been conducted in states such as Florida, New York, California and Illinois, and features fast-paced, hands-on activities.

“You might have five or 10 different careers in your lifetime, why not do something that gets you excited getting up in the morning?” Stratton said.

The career fair is aimed at serving 200 students, but since this is the first year of the event in the area, there are only about 50 students signed up so far.

Stratton said the Dive & Travel Expo, as well as Deep Ambitions, will continue annually in Tacoma.

Anyone interested in attending can show up on the day of the event, but Stratton suggests pre-registering online at www.nwdiveandtravelexpo.com or through Ticketmaster so the numbers can be accommodated properly.

John Larson contributed to this article.

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