Senior Project is a requirement for seniors. It is ten percent of a student’s political studies final grade. This is a process that requires a long term goal in which a student challenges themselves adequately. The outcome does not always have to be the set out goal but it is simply what the student has learned and experienced. Below is my process, reflection, letter to the judges and PowerPoint used for my Senior Project presentation.
Process
When the assignment arose for what your Senior Project should consist of, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I had many ideas, but none that I felt passionately about. I began to think of past experiences which I enjoyed and would like to get better at and learn more about. In June 2007, my mom and I were vacationing in Hawaii and she decided we needed to become certified Scuba Divers. I was reluctant to become a Scuba Diver because we were in Hawaii and I felt we should be enjoying our time on the beach, rather than underwater and studying at night. It took my mom and me three days to become certified Scuba Divers; this was a very fast course because we studied twice as much, watched informational videos at the condo and had in-class sessions after we dove in the mornings. After we became certified it felt rewarding to have accomplished something that was so out of my element. Looking back on this experience, I decided to become a Master Scuba Diver for my Senior Project.
The next step after discovering the topic for my project was to find a mentor. For some of my other peers, this was a relatively hard process, but for me it was the easiest part. I looked up Scuba shops in the area and tried to narrow it down to what I was looking for in a mentor. I decided to approach Napa Dive & Sport, owned by Roger Haseltine. I went into the shop and spoke with Roger about my Senior Project. On our second meeting, he agreed to be my mentor.
Shortly after, we began to correspond about how we would complete such a goal in the short amount of time. We set up a tentative schedule which would not allow any room for error or delay. Unfortunately, this schedule did not work out mostly due to Northern California weather. The first scheduled dive for the Advanced Class was October 20th and 21st, 2007. To my dismay, I had a terrible head cold and if a person dives when they are congested they are susceptible to losing their hearing. At my parents’ insistence and my own reluctance, I told Roger I would not be joining the class in Monterey. I was very disappointed that I had missed the trip but I had a lot going on in my life and simply got sick because I was so run down.
The first class I took was a five-hour Emergency Responder (EFR) Class which took lots of studying and an exam. I then took a Rescue Diver Class which was Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning in October and ending in November. On Tuesdays, we would have a class for two hours on procedures in Rescue Diving and on Thursdays we would dive in the Napa Valley Community College pool for two and a half hours. We also tried to schedule the dives for the Advanced and Rescue Courses in the ocean, as this is the last step to become certified. The next three scheduled trips were cancelled due to weather which was December 8th and 9th, January 5th and 6th, January 12th and 13th. As soon as I had realized how little time I had to complete my Senior Project, Roger and I decided to change the outcome.
The goal was changed to receiving the Advanced and Rescue Dives certifications. The Advanced Class required five dives and the Rescue Class required three dives. We both felt that this could be attainable in two weekends. We scheduled for a trip Saturday April 12th in Monterey and Sunday April 13th we would dive in Lake Berryessa. By Friday, we knew that the weather would cooperate for our weekend plans.
On Saturday, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get all of my things together, drive to the dive shop and depart at 6:00 p.m. We arrived in Monterey at 9:00 a.m. and put the boat in the water around 10:00 a.m. Then we suited up and began to discuss the first dive we would complete. I was with my mentor, Roger, and a fellow classmate from my EFR Class and Rescue Class. I was feeling very anxious about the dive because I was going to finally be able to complete it. As Roger explained what we would be doing, I began to get claustrophobic and nauseas. They told me to get in the water and it cooled me down instantly, but did not help with the nausea. We then began to descend; I realized I was not used to the murky water and cold temperatures because my initial experience with diving was in Hawaii. When we got to eighty feet it was not the depth which bothered me but the temperature of 43 degrees. I began to hyperventilate and almost ran out of air. After we came up from the dive and took an interval between dives, my nausea persisted and I did not want to get back in the water. My mentor told me to get in the water again and once I was in the water, before I put on my BCD, I threw up. I did not participate in the second dive and did not have the energy to complete the shore dive, so we packed up and headed back. Towards the end of the night I was feeling very apprehensive about diving in Lake Berryessa and was suffering from a migraine, so I called the shop and told Roger I would not be joining them.
After this experience, I do not feel inclined to dive in Northern California conditions and feel that diving will be an occasional vacation activity. My process of my Senior Project was as methodically as possible with the inclined obstacles and I did complete the work thoroughly. Throughout the duration of my Senior Project I learned a great deal about diving and how to react in an emergency situation. Overall, my project was a life experience that I will never forget.
Letter to Judges
Dear Judges,
Thank you for participating in the Senior Project evaluations and being here tonight. My Senior Project is to attain the highest level of certification in recreational scuba diving in the allotted amount of time.
I decided to base my project around scuba diving after receiving my Open Water certification in June 2007. Initially diving was an activity which my mom compelled me to do while vacationing in Hawaii. Although diving was indisputably not my option, I was allured to this new found hobby. After my initial skepticism, I wanted to dive more frequently and decided to make it part of my senior project in order overcome various fears.
My next step was to find a mentor, which was relatively easy. Roger Haseltine, owner of the Napa Valley Dive Shop agreed to help me achieve my goals and guide me through the process. Together, we began to set goals and line up classes.
The coursework I encountered was very foreign, but as time went on I acclimated to the new scuba vocabulary and equipment terms. I took an Emergency First Responder class which we role played emergency scenarios and how to respond in an emergency situation. I then began course work for becoming a Rescue Diver and Advanced Diver. I completed all of the course work and the four weeks of Tuesday and Thursday night diving at the Napa Valley Community College.
One of the biggest challenges was undoubtedly the weather. In order to fully obtain the Rescue Diver or Advanced Diver certification, a diver must test their skills in open water. Unpredictably, Northern California weather is presented many obstacles. We had to cancel diving plans five times throughout the course of the year.
I was finally able to complete my Rescue dives on April 12th and 13th. Although I was not able to complete the dives for the Advanced class, I challenged myself sufficiently throughout the course of my project. The process which I completed was very rewarding and it definitely provoked my mental abilities. Overall, I would not have changed anything about my Senior Project because a lot of the obstacles were out of my control.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this letter, and be a part of my Senior Project experience.
Sincerely,
Rachel Smith
Reflection
My Senior Project was seemingly a challenge which I had not fully anticipated. At first, my goal was to become a Master Scuba Diver but as the year progressed, there was simply not enough time to devote to this goal. I changed my goal mid-way through the year and decided to achieve the highest recreational certification in the allotted amount of time. This goal seemed to be more attainable to reach and more realistic. Soon, I learned that diving in Northern California weather conditions would be the hardest element.
The first scheduled dive for the advanced class was October 20th and 21st unfortunately, I was suffering from a very severe head cold and I was not able to make this trip. If a person dives when they are congested in any way shape or form, they can lose their hearing abilities and I did not want to take this risk. I was very disappointed that I was sick; I was really looking forward to it but I felt that it was in my best interest to get healthy and wait the trip out. The next scheduled trip was December 8th and 9th. Unfortunately, the weather did not fully cooperate through the weekend. Once again, the weather swindled us again on January 5th and 6th. We speculated the weather might be better by the next weekend (12th & 13th) but it did not prevail.
Fortunately, we were able count on the weather April 12th. That morning, we packed up all of the gear and headed to Monterey. I was feeling anxious because I was finally going to be able to get the dives completed. When we arrived, we unloaded the gear and got the boat in the water. We also suited up and began looking for a deep pinnacle. We found an excellent spot and dropped the anchor. To my dismay, it began to get really hot and my seven millimeter wet suit was beginning to feel claustrophobic. On top of the heat, the swaying of the boat was starting to make me feel nauseas. I did not want to go on the dive and expressed this to my fellow diver and mentor but there was no getting out of it. Once we got in the water, I did cool off but the nauseas still persisted. We then dropped under and used the anchor line to descend. Monterey has very cold water with limited visibility and this was my first experience in these conditions.
At this point and time, we were seventy to eighty feet under water and the water was forty three degrees. The depth did not bother me as much as the temperature. I was not enjoying myself to say the least. Once we reached the bottom, I began to undertake all the severity of the new conditions and because of the cold water I began to hyperventilate. I did not even realize I was almost out of air (500psi) when we were still diving. After my instructor noticed that my air was severely low, we began ascending. When we took a short interval before the next dive, the nauseas came back quickly and when I jumped in the water for the second dive I threw up. Needless to say, I did not participate in the second dive or have the energy to complete the shore dive.
All in all, I l had to overcome many challenges with my Senior Project. Diving is not as easy as it looks, it is very mentally and physically challenging. I was proud of myself for completing an Emergency First Responder class and finishing pool dives in the middle of the week. There was also many other books which I had to study and assignments which I had to complete on top of school work. For me, it took a lot of mental perseverance to complete the dive in Monterey. One of the biggest challenges was Northern California weather. It was simply unpredictable and was a very frustrating aspect. I have discovered that I do not like Northern California diving because of the weather, the lack of visibility, and the temperature. I also found out that I am prone to getting sea-sick on an idled boat. In total, I enjoyed the majority of my Senior Project and feel that I learned a lot about myself.