Wilhelmina Stanton

Name: Wilhelmina Stanton
Age: 30
Location: Lake Worth, Florida
Occupation:  Marine Science Director at Under Blue Waters

Where do you live these days?

I live in Lake Worth Florida.

What do you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a Marine biologist then I realized that you don’t always get to do that much diving so I decided to switch to working in the dive industry.

How did you get into diving? 

My family has always been really into diving and I they got me certified when I was 12.  After that I was hooked and continued to work my way up the ladder.

Tell me a little about what working with Dive Heart is like, what the organization is about and what you’ve done with it…

I have been volunteering with Diveheart for quite some time now.  For the past 2 years I have been the South Florida Coordinator.   I organize all of our S. Florida Discover Scuba Diving programs as well as host fundraisers.  We work with the Miami Children’s Hospital as well as our local YMCA.  It is an amazing organization.  I love working with all of our participants and volunteers.  They say that you can’t give without receiving and that is very true in this case.

It is the “CAN DO” spirit that Diveheart hopes to instill in all its participants by giving them the confidence and independence that allows them to face their own life challenges and overcome barriers that before might have seemed insurmountable.

Brief description of Diveheart :

The Diveheart Foundation was founded in Early 2001 and is a non-profit tax exempt 501 (C) (3) national organization chartered in the state of Illinois. The purpose of Diveheart is to provide and support educational SCUBA diving and snorkeling experience programs that are open to any child, adult, or veteran with a disability with the hope of providing both physical and psychological therapeutic value to that person.

It is the “CAN DO” spirit that Diveheart hopes to instill in all its participants by giving them the confidence and independence that allows them to face their own life challenges and overcome barriers that before might have seemed insurmountable.

Through SCUBA diving, the Diveheart Foundation supports and facilitates programs that teach children and adults with disabilities to fly. Thanks to the wonder of the water column, the oceans and lakes of the world become the forgiving weightless environment of outer space, giving perfect buoyancy to a child or adult who would otherwise struggle on land.

What’s a typical day usually like for you?

I don’t really have a typical day.  Everything varies from day to day.  In the summers my best friend and I run an ocean adventure camp (Under Blue Waters).  So Monday-Friday in the summer is spent paddle boarding, surfing, diving, snorkeling, and teaching the kids about our underwater world.

On the weekends I’m usually a Divemaster or work at Smart Fills.   In the winter I host numerous Discover Scuba Diving events for people of all abilities for Diveheart as well as work with the SCUBASirens to host fundraisers for all of our charities.   I am sure that there is something that I am leaving out as well.

Under Blue Waters :

Make a splash with Under Blue Water’s Ocean Adventure year round sea camps. Learn about our oceans and local marine life while having the time of your life experiencing new watersports like Snorkeling, Boogie Boarding, Skim Boarding, Paddle Boarding, Surfing, Fishing, Sailing and more. Campers will spend the day making new friends and building their confidence while getting their feet wet with water sport, marine science projects, games, service learning projects and arts and crafts. Join us on Friday’s field trip while we sail to and snorkel our only living coral reef barrier in North America and have a BBQ party after!

SCUBASirens :

The SCUBASirens is a group of seven ladies that are all divemasters, instructors, and captians that are actively involved in the dive industry and everyone has a charity that they support.  We all work together to help each other with our charities, as well as be role models for other young women that want to enter in to the diving industry.  Check us out at scubasirens.com.

What’s your favorite thing to do, other than diving?

I’m not really sure.  I love diving and do it for work as well as on the little bit of free time that I have.

For more information visit :

diveheart.org  |   underbluewaters.com  |  scubasirens.com