Meet this week’s Campus Celebrity Spencer Wyand! Spencer is a UNH Senior who has gone scuba diving all over the world. Read our exclusive Her Campus interview below to learn more about Spencer and his excursions.
Name: Spencer Wyand
Hometown: Durham, NH
Grade: Senior
Major: Marine, Estuarine, and Freshwater Biology
Activities/Clubs: Libby’s and Scorps
How old were you when you first went scuba diving? I was in 8th grade so I think I was 14 or so.
How do you become a certified scuba diver?There are many levels from an open water certificate to a dive master. For each level you need to take a class and then perform certain dives (night dive, 100 foot dive, etc.) with an instructor. For open water you have to spend a certain amount of hours in the classroom and in the pool then do three dives in some body of water with an instructor.
How many times have you been scuba diving?Somewhere around 50. I have gotten more into free diving lately so I would have more dives if I didn’t start free diving.
Can you name some of the coolest places you have gone scuba diving?I did a shark dive in Fiji, a cage dive in South Australia where we saw 5 or so Great Whites, and I have done about 15 or so dives in the Great Barrier Reef. My favorite diving ever was off of Lady Elliot Island which is a coral atoll located in the Southeastern Great Barrier Reef about a 40 minute plane ride off the mainland of Oz. There was 100 feet of visibility and the marine life was insane.
What is the coolest thing you have seen under water?Coolest thing would have to be a Great White Shark, but, I have also seen all kinds of other sharks, turtles, rays, and many other cool things.
Do you see this potentially becoming a career?Definitely not a full time career, but, I could see myself being a dive instructor for a few years and relaxing on a random island.
What advice do you have for people who want to scuba dive?A lot of people freak out about it because you are underwater and completely out of your element. Or say that they will feel very claustrophobic. But just like everything in life, it’s a mental game and those thoughts only come to your mind if you actually think them. Just relax and breathe, that’s all scuba diving requires and it allows you to enter a world where you don’t belong and experience and see amazing things. You will never know if you don’t try it.
Where are some places you hope to scuba dive in the future?Mozambique, South Africa, Antarctica, way too many to choose from – everywhere.