SCUBA Certification for Open Water and Advanced Open Water

During my STEP project I was given the opportunity to become both open water and advanced open water certified. The program that I became certified through is nationally recognized by PADI, a associate that keeps up with diving training quality. I was able to go on a total of ten dives, learn the many precise techniques needed to dive, follow safety standards, and see the beautiful world of the coral reefs. This was an amazing experience that I would not trade for the world.

Throughout this experience my view of the world has greatly changed. While underwater, one is unable to communicate verbally and having all your senses damped underwater. It is a tranquil yet terrifying experience. During the certification classes there was one dive where I went to a depth of 100 feet to a sunken battleship. As I began my descent into the cloudy water, I spent what felt like forever just slowly pulling myself deeper underwater until it came into view. A 510-foot-long battleship covered in coral. Something so powerful and massive cover with coral over every inch. The impermanence of that experience has really changed how easily nature will take over when the age of humans is no more. It really showed me how everything in nature adapts to the situation surrounding it.

The thing about nature and by extension humans is that they are constantly changing. From the current of the water to the falling of the leaves, the whole world has always been changing since it was just a rock floating through space. When there is a new environment life must adapt to survive and thrive. I felt somewhat like this myself upon the arrival to the Florida Keys. This has been the first time that I visited Florida and I was about to embark on a new experience that I have never been through before.

Luckily upon arrival I met some very nice people very quickly. The course instructor AJ was excited to share in the journey to certification. He was a terrific guide and calmly explained everything that needed to be done and reinforced the skills learned. He and I talk about our lives often because there was lots of free time between dive locations and lessons. I believe I made a strong friend, which is bound to happen when you spend 40 or more hours with someone. He really did a great job making sure I felt comfortable in a new area.

Another aspect that made me appreciate the adaptation of life was seeing all the aquatic life that I had never seen before. Under the water there can be thousands of fish around a person at a time, and they are often not afraid of divers. Also, the diver is in a situation where they are no longer the apex predator. This kind of thinking puts your mind in that of the fish who have learned to survive with such dangerous competition. You see how specialized each fish must truly be in order to live in such a place. The environment really shows in action how practical all the sciences I have learned at OSU are. For instance, the ecosystem and how each creature plays a role in it. In addition, adaptation and speciation can be seen by having such specialized fish whether that be schools of minos or giant nurse sharks.

First day in diving training felt like being faced to face with a shark. All around the pool and shop are divers who are all experts with all the certifications and the best equipment. It can be difficult for me to even tread water when I was young and not a natural swimmer. However, I knew that getting the certification and seeing the coral reefs has always been a dream of mine so I would need to adapt. The first time in water with the scuba gear is uneasy. Nothing comes naturally and you feel like a bubble floating without control or a rock racing to the bottom. However, as my comfortability increased so did the lessons. Luckily, through hard work and good teaching the techniques became natural to use and the water felt like my home.

This is an important idea for me to keep in mind, that everything is always changing. I currently have a job as an EMT and the environment can change in an instant if something happens to a patient. Changing is needed in order to do a good job. Also, my end goal is hopefully emergency room physician which needs even more adapting, strengthening, and never giving up. This idea is not only useful to the medical field but also live in general. Something bad can happen at any time so we have to do our best to strengthen ourselves I hope to never take my luckiness for granted.

Gaining My Wings

My STEP Signature Project was called “Gaining My Wings”. This project was all about me gaining more knowledge and confidence in the career I plan to pursue, aviation. I was able to gain my Private Pilot’s License buy using the STEP money and I love how much I learned throughout this experience.

My understanding of myself was transformed during my STEP project. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a pilot. This summer I got the chance to finally act on my dream and I learnt that I loved this industry more than I thought. The feeling of being in charge and being a pilot of a very power aircraft made me feel so much more dependent than I have ever felt. I learned so much from my instructor and from the resources I was able to purchase with my STEP budget and I feel like I have grown as a student throughout this process. I usually have a hard time staying focused in my studies. However, throughout my flight lessons I never once was bored and was constantly intrigued by what I was learning. I also learned independence and leadership throughout this process. I can now guide other female pilots like myself and not allow them to be worried about this career. I say I was transformed because I have grown as a person, a student, and a pilot.

Another transformation that occurred through my STEP project was my assumptions about being a pilot and my view on the industry of aviation. I assumed that being a pilot was easy and that if I could fly the plane, I would be a pilot. However, there was so much I did not realize a pilot needed to know. My respect for other pilots has grown and those women and men that made flight even possible. As a strong feminist, it is difficult to enter aviation since it is dominantly a male career field. But I have been inspired by so many female pilots who are leaders in this career field that I have meet throughout this process that I no longer have any worries about that issue. Those women are role models and leaders and now that is something that I am working towards. My views have also changed on the world. Being a pilot is going to give me the ability to see the world from a new perspective and it is crazy to imagine the possibilities I have to experience.

The first aspect that led to my transformation as a person and a student came from my instructor. He was so knowledgeable and so excited about every flight lesson that it would make me excited to even be there. It was easy to learn and love what I was learning by having someone with so much excitement about the topic teaching it to me. Even on my worst days, he still found a way to encourage me to keep pushing towards my end goal and for that I learned perseverance and constant dedication. He was a leader to me and showed me how to be a leader for those that I instruct when I move on to my next phase as an instructor. I grew as a student and found values that I want to remain constant in my career as a pilot.

Another aspect that changed my views on the world was by the amazing pilots I met. Listening to their experiences and the sights that they saw encouraged me to keep pushing myself as a pilot. The world from above is a completely different experience. They are leaders in this industry and it is something that I hope to do when I get more experience in the field. I can’t wait to do that as either a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force defending my country or from a commercial plane flying to my next destination.

The last aspect that changed me was meeting other female pilots. Aviation seems like a daunting career field to enter with it being a predominantly male field. However, so many rising female pilots changed my mind. They talked to me about their challenges and conflicts but in the end, they came out on top. I am constantly trying to find role models and mentors and by completing this STEP project, I met more than I could have imagined. Now it is my turn to be a leader and a mentor as a pilot. My first step to doing this is by using the knowledge I gained and spreading it to other females, like in my org Women in Aviation where I am Vice President. It has helped me grow as a female pilot, as a person, as a student, and a leader.

These changes and transformation are significant to me because it is helping me grow as a person and as a pilot. I am learning more and more each day about my life goal and that is more than I could ever ask for. I feel different and more experienced by gaining my license and meeting the people that I met throughout the process. My family and friends supported me throughout this process and I now know that I have a huge support system that is behind me. The experiences I gained throughout this project is something that I will hold with me for the rest of my life. It allowed me to grow in my life and that is something that I cannot thank enough. I feel I can use my experiences as a leader and now I can lead other girls to feel the excitement of flight like I gained this summer. I am extremely excited to continue to my path as a pilot and can’t wait to see where it takes me.

STEP Reflection

For my STEP project, I completed a Phlebotomy certification course at DRM Learning Center in Lansing, MI. Through participating in the two week course, I learned the values of a healthcare worker, while mastering the skills of performing different types of blood draws and other medical lab tests. At the completion of the course, I also took a written final exam with information about working in a broader healthcare setting as well as the details of my specific skill set. 

As a student in my first semester at the College of Nursing, I originally took this class to gain the certifications to be able to get clinical experience and work in a healthcare setting while still being in school. I thought it would be a smart way to supplement my education and be a good starting point to build my resume with medical experience. Because of outside factors and COVID, I have been unable to fully work with these new skills. However, I learned much more about healthcare, myself, and what I want in my future in the class than I had expected. 

This class taught me more about the integrity and morals of healthcare workers than I had realized before. My instructor, Bernadette, shared with me her experiences of many years in different healthcare settings that opened my eyes to the diverse perspectives and opportunities I may encounter in my future. She also elaborated on the necessity of being flexible, caring, and empathetic in this field of work. Already this semester, I have already been able to carry with me the values and knowledge I gained from completing my STEP project.

In addition to learning what it really means to be a healthcare worker, I learned about the many different opportunities available for me to get a step into the healthcare field aside from being in nursing school. Before I did the research into taking this class, I thought the only way to start working in a hospital would be through going to nursing or medical school. However, I now realize there are an uncountable number of moving parts and different positions that go into making these facilities run. With this new understanding, I am excited to look into other opportunities in the future to get in extra clinical experience before I graduate from nursing school. 

Many people that worked for the training center were medical assistants, technicians, certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, and other technically trained medical workers. Speaking and learning with them introduced me to the wide range of people I will encounter and work with in my future. I now understand that people from all different social and educational backgrounds can work in healthcare as long as you are dedicated and have a strong drive to help others. 

This class made me excited about my future because I know that I will have the opportunity to work with many diverse people, yet still have similar values and motives as them. Everyday I go to work in the future, I will get to learn from others while sharing my knowledge, skillset, and morals, as well. Additionally, I will be able to transfer what I learned from this class to help me in nursing school, and hopefully assist my peers when it comes time for us to practice phlebotomy. My dream of working in a hospital is now one step closer to my reach and I have new knowledge and experience, outside of nursing school, that can take me there.