Tomasa Lane ’16 spent seventeen days over the summer sailing along the coast of St. Martin, exploring the open waters of the Caribbean with her newly earned PADI Scuba Diving license.

Lane participated in an opportunity hosted through the Broadreach Summer Programs. Lane hopes to become a marine biologist in the future, and this particular program allowed her to scuba dive three times a day, including night dives and learn about marine life.

Making the decision to head off for the Caribbean was not an easy decision. Lane physically and mentally took a step out of her comfort zone when she willingly chose to dive 95 feet into the ocean, spend more than two weeks with twelve people she had never met, and take control of sailing a Catamaran Yacht. It’s all part of the experience, right?

While having the time of her life, she also managed to acquire some leadership skills along the way. Lane says that “Broadreach helped me to become much more outgoing.”

In such a small group, students had essentially no other choice but to open up and take control of situations they had knowledge in. Lane said, “I learned a lot about teamwork and also became really close with everyone, like a family, by the end of the experience.”

Lane has a newly discovered passion, and it’s no surprise that she hopes to become an intern with the program next summer. Overall, she had a great experience, and can’t wait to go back.