Marissa Cornell, a senior genetics and genomics major at Michigan State, was on a volunteer trip when she had an opportunity to become scuba certified. Cornell received her scuba certification and her dive against debris certification, a program where scuba divers collect trash in the ocean with the goal of reducing marine debris by 50 percent in targeted countries by 2030.
“It was a great experience where I was able to learn about environmental issues within our ocean ecosystems in Hawaii and how I can contribute to helping fix the problems by cleaning up debris and streamlining my gear so as to not disturb any coral,” Cornell said.
Cornell is the president of the Michigan State Scuba Club, a co-ed group of around 30 members, who go on annual diving trips.
“I decided to run for this position because I wanted to be a part of planning the fun trips and social events I got to partake in the year prior and I wanted to better my leadership skills such as delegation and public speaking,” Cornell said.
A diving club in Michigan presents a unique set of challenges, since freezing temperatures prevent the club from diving locally during the winter. Cornell said that though it’s not impossible, the club does not dive in the middle of winter.
“For diving we mainly go in the fall and then during spring break, but people can go at any point if they have the right gear such as a dry suit,” she said.
The spring break trip is the biggest for the club and in 2024, members will be going to Roatán, an island in Honduras. Last year, in 2023, the club went to Willemstad, Curaçao.
“My favorite club memory is going on the spring break trip to Curaçao last year and seeing a bunch of sea turtles while diving,” Cornell said.
The club went to Putnam County, Ohio at the end of October, to dive in Gilboa Quarry, a yearly tradition that takes place before the snow falls.
Kate Eichburg, a sophomore neuroscience major, said her favorite club memory was the Gilboa trip this year.
“I drove down with two other girls, we got to go dive and then make a break for the closest Waffle House before heading back, it was a long, cold day, but a really fun one,”
Gilboa Quarry is an underwater adventure park that has a variety of attractions for novice and professional divers. They also offer snorkeling and a beach for those who want to swim.
“It was really cool to get to see all the things they sink in the lake, like a school bus, a boat, a plane and all the fish,” Eichburg said.
Eichburg got involved in scuba diving because of her dad Matthew, who has been diving all his life. Matthew is originally from Warren, but has served in the Army for 30 years, so Eichburg moved around frequently growing up. He helped her get certified in 2021 and scuba diving became a fun, adventurous thing for them to do together. They have gone on several dives all over the United States, including some in South Carolina, where Eichburg was certified, and in the Florida Keys.
“The best one had to be in the Georgia Aquarium though,” she said. “The whale sharks swim right over your head because they love the bubbles on their bellies from the regs [regulators] and some of the smaller sharks mess with you by biting on your fins, it was amazing,”
Mia Pepevnik, a sophomore fisheries and wildlife major, and the club’s director of public relations, found the club freshman year and decided to join, though she had no previous scuba experience.
“I have loved the ocean since I was a kid,” she said. “I thought scuba diving would be an amazing way to explore it. It also looks great on a fisheries and wildlife resume.”
Pepevnik received her scuba certification in less than a year with the help of the club and says that the people she’s met are what makes the club so great.
“My favorite memories are dinners after a day of diving. We talked about the dive, and everyone shared stories from their past experiences,” Pepevnik said.
With winter approaching, the club will have more above water activities like friendsgiving, planning out its spring break trip, and sharing stories from the fall semester of diving, until its next trip.
“I think scuba divers have the best stories in the world,” Pepevnik said.