Stay-Focused's Eighteenth Program
August 11 - 17, 2009
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Stay-Focused Conducts Eighteenth Program! The fourth program of summer 2009 brought four first-time divers together, along with one of our alums, Justin Strafuss, who served as the mentor for the group. Participants included Meredith Ausenbaugh, Sydney Bolen, Katie Bruckmann, and Jill Moore. Jessica Ebanks, another Stay-Focused alum, also joined the group on the dive boat. 
Leading the Program Joining the group were: Roger Muller, Founder/President of Stay-Focused, Trisha Yurochko, Stay-Focused Board member and diving regular, Dr. JenFu Cheng, our medical advisor and also a member of the core team, and newcomer Dr. Mark Lombardo, and his wife, Janet. Stay-Focused diving instructors Marty Banks, Chris Brandson, Tony Chisholm, and Jaxx Kienas guided the new divers from their academics through to their certifications and first three recreational dives - as always, many thanks to the diving instructors for their excellent supervision of the process and for volunteering their time! Many thanks to Jess Leblond and the Ambassadors of the Environment program for offering an educational workshop about coral reefs and the marine environment to our group. This is always a highlight of our trip for first-time divers and very much appreciated. Thank you, Jess! |
Responsibility Code As part of each trip, we either create or revisit our Responsibility Code, which simply outlines the rules of conduct we all agree to abide by during our time together. Here’s what the group agreed to:
On each trip we also contemplate the acronym DIVER and assign words to each letter that reflect the collective opinion of the group. Here are the words this group chose: D Driven I Intense V Versatile E Epic R Remarkable As is true for all our groups, these teens were driven and intense as they confronted their initial anxieties and pushed all obstacles aside. Each member of the group displayed versatility in her approach to the sport and ability to clear her mask (especially Meredith!). All considered the events of the week suitable for an epic, and the experience as a whole quite remarkable. Well done! And congratulations to Justin for doing an excellent job in allaying the group's concerns and providing helpful information to each diver throughout the week. 
Goals for 2009 At the end of the trip, each member of the group sets a goal for the remainder of the year. The goals are meant to be realistic, achievable, and measurable. Here they are:
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