MORE THAN AN ADVENTURE. LIFE LIVED.
It’s amazing what happens when you spend time around and in the ocean with new friends, in exciting locations around the world, doing things that challenge you and help you grow. You’ll build lifelong friendships and learn things about yourself you never imagined. Whether you come to us for an adventure program for college credit, to become a diver or advance your diving skills, or because you want to become a professional Divemaster or Instructor, your time with us will be transformational and life changing. You’ll gain valuable experience and knowledge that will open the door to amazing opportunities in your future. In addition to learning valuable skills, you’ll also develop more confidence, courage, and empathy for the ocean while coming to understand more about the world, people, and other cultures around you.
THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER
We’re more than an educational organization. We do so much more than provide vocational training. We offer more than camps, summer adventures, and internships. We mentor teens and adults so they can improve their lives and the world around them by being TRUSTWORTHY in all that they do and say, RESPECTING others, accepting personal RESPONSIBILITY, dealing FAIRLY, and CARING enough to become change agents as global CITIZENS. Everything we do and everything we offer is built upon this foundation.
Trustworthy
Trustworthiness concerns a variety of qualities like honesty, integrity, reliability and loyalty. When others trust us, they don't feel you need to be monitored to assure you meet your obligations and keep your word. It means they believe in you and hold you in higher esteem. This is why it is important to live up to the expectations of others and refrain from self-serving behavior that can quickly destroy our relationships.
Respect
Respect is fundamental in creating civil society. It prohibits violence, humiliation, manipulation and exploitation. It reflects notions such as civility, courtesy, decency, dignity, autonomy, tolerance and acceptance. People are not things, and everyone has a right to be treated with dignity. While you do not have an ethical duty to hold all people in high esteem, we should all treat everyone with respect. Even those we fundamentally disagree with. Respect is really about us. We have a responsibility to be the best we can be in all situations, even when dealing with unpleasant people.
Responsibility
Ethical people show responsibility by being accountable, pursuing excellence and exercising self-restraint. They exhibit the ability to respond to expectations. It means being in charge of our choices and, thus, our lives. It means being accountable for what we do and who we are. It also means recognizing that our actions matter and we are morally on the hook for the consequences. Our capacity to reason and our freedom to choose make us morally autonomous and, therefore, answerable for whether we honor or degrade the ethical principles that give life meaning and purpose.
Fairness
Fairness involves issues of equality, equity, impartiality, proportionality, openness and due process. The basic concept seems simple, even intuitive, yet applying it in daily life can be surprisingly difficult. Disagreeing parties often tend to believe their position is the only one that is fair, but true fairness implies adherence to a balanced standard of justice without relevance to one’s own feelings or inclinations.
Caring
We do not exist in a vacuum and most of us are surrounded by others every day. If we weren't, there'd be no need for character at all. Caring is at the very center of ethics and ethical decision-making. It is impossible to truly be ethical, and not care about the welfare of others. Unfortunately, many people consider themselves ethical and yet lack a caring attitude towards individuals, often treating them as nothing more than instruments of their will. They rarely feel an obligation to be honest, loyal, fair or respectful except insofar as it is prudent for them to do so, a disposition which itself hints at duplicity and a lack of integrity. A person who really cares feels an emotional response to both the pain and pleasure of others. The highest form of caring is the honest expression of benevolence, or altruism.
Citizenship
Citizenship is much more than being a member of the country you were born into. And while it does include civic virtues and duties such as knowing and obeying the law, a good Citizen gives more than they get. It means being aware of what's going on not just in your back yard, but around the world. It means taking the initiative, participating in meaningful service projects, and doing more than your fair share to bring about positive change to make society work for current and future generations.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE
We are who we are, because of what we believe. We do what we do, because of who we are. Dive Mentor is entirely shaped by The Six Pillars of Character. An undercurrent of ethics, compassion, and love for others guides our decisions and how we operate as individuals and as an organization at every single level.
Dive Mentor’s Mission is to educate, inspire, and mentor others to be change agents. We do this through a variety of innovative, fun, and exciting marine-based adventure, educational, and scientific training programs. That’s it. Nothing else. No distractions. Nothing to steal our focus. And we’re guided by very simple principles: treat others with respect, be kind, protect marine wildlife and fragile marine habitats, and ensure students have access to the highest levels of professional and safe education, while having lots of fun. This is our mission, this is our focus.
Dive Mentor, Inc. was founded exclusively for educational, scientific, and charitable purposes as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and is fully recognized by the IRS as having Public Charity Status under section 509(a)(2).
Dive Mentor, Inc. is a United States based company that certifies and works with instructors and schools around the world to deliver comprehensive scuba training programs. The organization is controlled by an all-volunteer Board of Directors.
Dive Mentor, Inc. was founded by a group of professional divers who have tens of thousands of hours of combined under-water time in recreational, commercial, public safety, and military diving who all feel a powerful calling to protect the ocean, marine animals, and fragile marine habitats. They not only love to dive, but strongly believe in ensuring students have access to the highest levels of professional education while having lots of fun.
Dive Mentor’s primary focus is on sharing scuba diving and the ocean with two main categories of the public: 1) those who may not otherwise have access to SCUBA diving—especially underprivileged teens, the disabled, or those who are land locked and have no access to the Ocean; and 2) Educating future generations of advocates to take on leadership roles that will positively impact the future of the Ocean and the diving industry. Our programs include introduction to diving and marine conservation, open water diving, advanced diving and specialties, rescue and medical courses, and both Divemaster Internships and Instructor Development Courses that lead to professional-level certification. We cater for high achieving high school students, college students, and those who wish to enter the field vocationally.
In-line with our educational programs, Dive Mentor strive’s to create “ambassadors”, wherein we encourage divers to engage, educate, and inspire other divers and non-divers interested in diving, to specifically participate in beach and underwater-clean-ups. These ambassadors organize the collection and removal of non-integrated trash from beaches and bodies of water, as well as, engage in other activities that will positively impact the Ocean and conserve and preserve it for future generations.
The instructors and divemasters who mentor other divers through our organization are mature, experienced, dedicated professionals who hold multiple agency certifications. The minimum requirements to become a Dive Mentor is Divemaster certification, in good standing, with at least 300 dives in a variety of settings, five specialities certifications, and possession of a current BLS, ACLS, and PALS provider certification.
Full status Instructors must have a minimum of 500 dives, hold at least five speciality instructor certifications, BLS, First Aid, and Emergency O2 Provider instructor certification (or equivalent), and must possess current advanced medical provider training.
Each candidate must undergo a comprehensive evaluation that includes personality tests, a back ground check, and both academic and skills evaluations. Those who pass are accepted as provisional Dive Mentors, but must complete a rigorous training program and must provide evidence of Professional Level Dive and Liability insurance.
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Dive Mentor, please contact us here.
Dive Mentor believes there is a considerable difference between a training program, coaching, and mentoring. With the latter, relationships are valued as a very powerful means to longer-term personal development in a given environment. Mentoring by definition has more inherent value, as it is based on a mutual desire for development towards the mentee’s (the person being mentored) personal and professional goals and objectives.
Mentoring is concerned with long-term development and focuses on implicit, intuitive subjects and behaviors. While we do focus on tasks and learning, and we do “coach” students during “training”, our mission and purpose as an organization (and as individuals) is to help prepare other divers to enter into and positively influence the diving industry.
Our pricing structure is not only competitive, but provides students with a greater return on their investment by including additional certifications, training modules, one-on-one mentoring with a variety of experienced and knowledgeable instructors during different parts of the program, and other incentives that few, if any schools in the industry, can match.
As a responsible and morally conscious organization, we ensure that all students who train with Dive Mentor are covered by Diver Alert Network (DAN) under our professional membership during their course, or until they obtain membership. DAN is a group of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to improving diving safety for all divers.
Unlike many diving organizations, schools, and dive shops, we exist purely for public benefit—not to create a profit for owners or stakeholders. Because our mission is charitable in nature, we utilize income brought in through courses, product sales, fundraisers, and donations to help others learn to dive and in many cases become professionals themselves. Our financial assistance programs are reserved for those with the greatest need, but we evaluate all applications on a case-by-case basis. As with other schools (think trade schools, colleges, and universities) only applicants who’ve actually been accepted into a program may apply for financial assistance.
ADVENTURE PROGRAMS
Dive Mentor is committed to educating the rising generation about the plight of the ocean and what they can do to make a difference. Our flagship program offered to High School and College Students for Marine Biology and Coral Conservation is our Caribbean Adventure experience that is operated in residence or aboard a ship for up to 21-days during the Summer.
LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN DIVING?
Dive Mentor’s core mission is fulfilled by helping new divers become professionals in the industry. If you’ve always wanted to become a Dive Guide, Divemaster, or Scuba Instructor our comprehensive vocational programs are exactly what you’ve been looking for.