Darlene has been a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, working with people of all ages and abilities in improving communication skills. She learned to dive in 2001, as a 42-year-old single mother of two boys. Their reaction? “What? Are you crazy?” In her first year she distinguished herself in the diving community when she competed with other divers in The Dive Club, a social scuba group that meets in Bay Shore, in an annual event they call Death By Diving. She was the only woman, and in fact, the only diver, to complete six dives at six different beach sites covering two counties, in one weekend. Her success earned her a lobster dinner reward and the respect of fellow club members. She has participated in the east coast’s Aquawoman dives several times. During her training to become a Divemaster, she developed a vision to teach scuba diving, through the help of a signing interpreter, to children who are speech and hearing impaired. Her scholarship from WDHOF helped her with this project. She learns from her students too, and developed a better series of hand signals that can be used by all divers underwater. Darlene says she likes diving because, “you never know what will catch your eye and interest.” She likes the camaraderie, the fun, and meeting new people. “This is a sport you have a passion for,” she says. “The payoff is so incredible, it never ends. The training never ends, the new people you meet never ends. It is a whole new world.” Besides beach dives, she enjoys wreck diving, and like so many local enthusiasts, she favors the wreck of the SS Oregon, in 130 feet of water. “I dive in a dry suit now, with doubles (two tanks of air.) It’s tough sometimes, but when I think about it, I’m going to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to do something I love doing and will do it as long as I can. If I can’t get up the boat ladder with my tanks on, I will find someone to help me do it.” She found a fancy plate on the Oregon which she thought was just a large clam until she examined it closely after she brought it up to the surface. She is proud of her very first artifact, “a rusty piece of something that I still have in a plastic bag.”