Summer Scuba Camp Staff
Scott Davenport, Director, has a BS in Marine Fisheries Biology from Texas A&M University. He holds multiple Recreational, Technical, and Cave Instructor ratings with SDI/TDI, PADI and NASE. He taught recreational SCUBA courses, American Academy of Underwater Sciences scientific diving course, and was the Interim Diving Safety Officer at Texas A&M University. After moving to Florida, Scott was the Program Director for a summer camp. Most recently he was the founder and Director of an extremely popular SCUBA program at a Florida private school. He has over 15 years of summer camp experience and leading expeditions like these. Scott enjoys teaching people of all ages the value of safe and environmentally friendly scuba diving.
|
Jennifer Davenport, Director, has a MSc in Biology from Texas A&M University and a BS in Marine Biology from Ohio University. She has over 20 years of diving experience, many of which she served as a Dive Master assisting scuba classes with children and young adults. She has over 10 years experience working with children of all ages as a gymnastics instructor and an environmental education instructor at various camps located throughout the country. For the past 10 years she has worked as an Aquatic Biologist identifying and describing species of aquatic invertebrates from both marine and freshwater systems including many of Florida's pristine springs. She enjoys exploring and hiking around Florida's springs and trails with her family.
|
Patrick Hales, Program Director / SCUBA Instructor, is originally from England and has lived and traveled all over the world. He has been diving since he was six years old and has completed many dives ranging from the warm tropical waters of the Florida Keys and springs, to the dark and cold waters of European quarries. Patrick is an SDI and PADI instructor and holds numerous recreational and technical dive certifications including cave diver. Patrick has been a part of Earth Immersion for seven years, since he was in high school. The past four years he has worked alongside Scott educating young individuals about the safe, proper way to scuba dive and the natural wonders of North Central Florida. Besides teaching scuba, Patrick has spent time volunteering on the remote island of Montserrat, where he carried out reef surveys for an award-winning NGO specializing in marine conservation. Most recently he has spent time in Dubai teaching scuba classes during breaks from his university studies. When Patrick isn’t diving, he is working on a masters degree in physical oceanography at Bangor University, Wales, U.K.
John Seabrook, Interim Program Director/Assistant Instructor, has been diving for 7 years and holds multiple recreational and technical certifications including his Assistant Instructor and Full Cave Diver certification. Most of his diving certifications were acquired through Earth Immersion and/or Scott Davenport. John served as Program Director for Earth Immersion in 2018 and is joining us again this year as the Interim Program Director. John most recently worked at the Houston Downtown Aquarium as a dive technician for four years. He conducted commercial dives while surrounded by sea life ranging from clownfish to a 21-foot long-tooth sawfish. John was also responsible for general tank and dive equipment maintenance. Additionally, he participated in monthly drowning diver drills, which simulated real-life emergency scenarios and life-saving techniques. Prior to the aquarium, John worked as a Life Guard and assisted his swim team coaches with younger children on his Summer League Swim Teams. Since he began diving, he has acquired 1,000+ hours of underwater dive time. John is now living in Baltimore, Maryland going to flight school to become a commercial pilot.
Neve Steger, Aquatics Director, is originally from Jersey City, New Jersey but now lives in Des Moines. She is an open water diver and has experience scuba diving and snorkeling at sites around Central Florida. She has several years of experience as a lifeguard and water safety instructor, teaching swimming techniques and water safety to children and teens. Besides working around the water, she has worked as a mentor and tutor to kids in youth ministries for the past five years. She attends the University of South Carolina working on her accelerated bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and Geology. Her major interests of study include Geological Oceanography and Climate System Science. In addition, she swims competitively on the USC Swim Club team and is an active member of the SEAS program (Students Engaged in Aquatic Sciences).
Nava Kiss, Science Director, is from Fairfax, Virginia, but is currently pursuing degrees in Biology and Marine Sciences at the University of Florida. She is a TDI Cavern Diver and has experience diving throughout Florida and the Caribbean. She has also spent several summers working with campers at her local rec center. Additionally, Nava works closely with the Florida Program for Shark Research and Aquatic Pathobiology Lab, where she tackles projects relating to evolutionary morphology and marine ecology. She also currently serves as a Recreation Manager for RecSports at UF, and is a Collegiate Ambassador. When she is not SCUBA diving or freediving, Nava loves to stay active by hiking, traveling, and going to the gym.
Interested in joining our team? Please contact us for more details.