Pamela is an Ohio resident who has discovered the joys of saying “YES” to an adventurous life. Overcoming a severe water phobia, she first experienced scuba diving in 2011 when she took an introductory class. Never having tried it before, she surprised herself, her family, and her instructors by becoming an immediate enthusiast. Pam is currently the managing editor at Dermatology Times (UBM Medica), in Cleveland. “Most of my travel right now is for work (love my new job), but I’ve managed to dive in Grand Cayman and Maui. Wonderful experiences! Every time I dive–and frequently in other situations–I tell the story of how WDHOF sponsored me to become a certified diver. It remains a pivotal point in my life. My gentleman friend just last month completed his classroom training and will be doing his open water dive next week. When he said he admired me for having overcome my phobia and learned to dive, he added that learning to dive was a lifelong dream of his. I told him there’s no reason for it not to be a reality! If I can do it, anyone can. So he signed up for a class that same week. :) His story is inspirational, too...he was a skydiving instructor who was in a terrible accident–broken spine, shattered femur. He was told he would never walk again. He rehabilitated himself–it took years of determination and dedicated physical training. He now not only walks, he cycles, hikes, skis, and swing dances (which is how we met...I dance East Coast swing and Latin). And now he’s learning to scuba dive as well. We’re talking about going in September/October to Italy and Greece (perhaps Crete?), and we think it would be amazing to dive in the Aegean.”