U.S. Navy SCUBA Scholarships
U.S. Navy’s Miami Beach Senior High SCUBA Scholarship winners Sasha Dyroff, Adriana Chait and Adrea Orduz with Celebration of the Sea Founder and CEO Patxi Pastor.
Miami Beach High School students and U.S. Navy cadets Sasha Dyroff (Cadet Petty Officer Third Class), Adriana Chait (Cadet Petty Officer Third Class) and Adrea Orduz (Cadet Seaman) were awarded full SCUBA scholarships through the U.S. Navy’s Women Divers Hall of Fame & Women’s SCUBA Association Training Grant. The program has been developed by The Celebration of the Sea Foundation as part of its World Ocean Watch Marine Science and Educational Program.
At City Hall, Miami Dade School Chief of Staff, Jerold Blumstein, Miami Beach High School teacher, Becky Salichova, Celebration of the Sea Foundation Founder and CEO, Patxi Pastor, Miami Beach High School Principal Dr. Rosann Sidener, City of Miami Beach Commissioner, Jerry Libbin, and U.S. Naval Science Instructor Ronald Hunter.
“We are proud of our cadets for receiving 2009 Women Divers Hall of Fame and Women’s SCUBA Association Training Grant,” said U.S. Naval Science Instructor, Ronald Hunter. “All of our cadets who competed for the grants had to write biographies and essays in addition to submitting reference letters in order to be chosen.”
The Miami Beach High School AMES (Academy of Marine and Environmental Sciences) SCUBA Club was established to be part of the Academy’s curriculum and was co-founded by Miami Beach Senior High school teacher Becky Salichova and Celebration of the Sea Foundation Founder and CEO, Patxi Pastor, who is a certified NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) SCUBA Instructor and NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) Scientific Diver. “We are thrilled about the U.S. Navy’s support of our program,” said SCUBA Club Co-Founder Patxi Pastor. “We were also delighted that over 100 other Miami Beach High School students have already submitted applications to be chosen for the SCUBA Club next year. Our foundation is particularly interested in encouraging both minorities and young women to pursue careers in science and diving so this made the scholarships extra special for us.”
U.S. Navy SCUBA Scholarship Wiinners Sasha Dryoff, Adriana Chait and Adrea Orduz during their open water test dives in Key Largo, Florida.
“Our high school cadets who won these SCUBA scholarships are great examples of the growing passion among our students to explore and learn about our local ecological diversity,” said Miami Beach’s Commissioner Jerry Libbin. “I am delighted at the progress the Celebration of the Sea Foundation has made in helping our community develop innovative environmental and educational programs like AMES and the SCUBA Club. This is one example of the fine work of this Foundation, and I am proud to continue to support their initiatives.”