I landed in Orlando just before midnight on Tuesday, after a long, long day of traveling from Fiji. I would be staying the weekend at a hotel with Robin and Maureen, and although exhausted when I got to the room, we couldn’t help but stay up for an hour or two catching up and being excited for the days to come.

 

Wednesday was the first full day of DEMA and we got a bit of a sleep in before preparing for the hectic days ahead. We made it to the convention just before noon, where we got checked in and the craziness began! We spent the next few hours walking the floor, meeting old friends and catching up as well as networking with people we had yet to meet in the industry. DEMA is an incredible chance for the scholars to continue meeting people from all aspects of the dive industry and a good chance to get a few more plans made for the second half of the year. After walking around the floor for several hours and lots of laughing with friends, old and new, Robin and I headed back to the hotel to get ready for that evening’s events. Robin, who is a member of the Women Diver’s Hall of Fame, had invited Maureen and me to the fundraising dinner that night. Robin left an hour or so before us to help get the event set up and after a bit of a rest, Maureen and I headed over to the event. We met up with Jayne, Sue, and Ben and had a wonderful evening of chatting with friends and perusing the auction items up for grabs. Before the night got too late, I headed to bed to rest for another day of networking and socializing.

We had a much earlier start on Thursday, having a breakfast planned with all the folks from OWUSS. It was nice to have so many people from OWUSS together since the April awards ceremony and we all caught up over a delicious buffet breakfast. Once breakfast was finished, we headed across the street to the convention center, energized for another day of walking and talking. Hours later, we had thoroughly exhausted ourselves from visiting as many booths as possible and we left the floor early to give us enough time to prepare for the big event of the evening, the NOGI awards. This year’s awards ceremony was particularly special because one of the recipients was the legendary Rodney Fox, cage diving pioneer and long-term host of the Rolex Scholars. I had the huge honor of getting to meet Rodney and his lovely wife, Kay, at the cocktail hour before the awards ceremony began. After a few drinks and mingling with folks, we all took our seats for a wonderful night of celebrating those in the dive industry. It was another day at DEMA done, and I managed to get a few hours of sleep in before the next busy day began!

Friday started with a breakfast hosted by OWUSS, as a chance to meet with sponsors and for current scholars to give an overview of our year thus far. Ben and I had prepared 5-10 minute PowerPoint presentations to give to whoever showed up that morning. We arrived at the convention center early to make sure everything was set up and running smoothly. People started to trickle in a short time after we arrived and it was nice to see so many sponsors and hosts of the scholarship together in one room. After some words from the president, Mike, and a few other folks, Ben gave his talk and then I gave mine. It was a nice chance to explain what I’d been up to and how each sponsor had helped me throughout the year. The breakfast ended around 10, when the floor opened for DEMA. We slowly wandered over to the exhibit hall where once again, the day was spent running around finding sponsors to talk with or finding people I’d yet to meet. Around midday, I met with the folks from Silent Diving to pick up the Inspiration unit I was being lent for my next adventure. After DEMA, I’d be heading to work with the National Park Service in American Samoa, and they use rebreathers for a lot of their marine work. I thought it’d be the perfect chance to develop my CCR skills and rack up more hours flying the unit, so Mike Fowler generously let me borrow one of his units for the trip. I grabbed the unit and brought it back to the hotel, where I took some brief rest before heading back to the convention hall to squeeze in a few more hours of socializing. To top off the night, I attended the DEMA Awards Dinner followed by drinks at the hotel bar.

Saturday was the last day of DEMA and I was amazed at how the event blurred by. We spent a few more hours at the convention hall in the morning, saying our goodbyes and making sure we had visited everyone we wanted to. Around lunch, we head back to the hotel and I say my farewell to Robin, who was catching a flight that evening. I would be spending the next two days with Ben and Robby (the Bonnier Intern) in Orlando, getting prepared for my trip to American Samoa. The rest of that evening and almost all of Sunday I spent recovering from the whirlwind of DEMA and trying to catch up on sleep before a long day of travel on Monday.

 

Monday morning came quickly and by 4 am I was picked up by my shuttle to get to the airport for my 6 am flight. I spent the whole day flying to get to American Samoa that night. By the time I arrived in Pago Pago, I was exhausted and mildly delirious. To top it off, I had no idea who was picking me up from the airport or what I could expect. Much to my relief, I was met at the airport by three of the marine crew I’d be living with for the next 3 weeks. It had been quite the journey, but I was happy to have finally reached my next destination and couldn’t wait to see what the upcoming three weeks had in store!