The PADI X Vision:

PADI X seeks to engage and encourage college students to become active divers, stewards of the aquatic realm and leaders in the diving community and industry.

The PADI X Lifestyle:

We promote not just the sport of diving but also the lifestyle and culture that goes along with it. Rather than merely telling people about it, we present opportunities for them to do it; to join people who are actively engaging each other in diving activities locally and around the world

PADI X Internship:

We are looking for college students who love diving and would like to expand their knowledge of and involvement in the sport or scuba diving.

The primary focus of the PADI X internship program is to recruit and involve the next generation of divers and dive leaders. The success of this program is demonstrated by the numbers of new divers embracing the sport, the numbers participating in dive events and dive travel, and the numbers of divers growing their skills through continuing education in pursuit of becoming dive leaders.

We want to develop an undergraduate led team of dive professionals and supporting cast to teach other students at the University to dive and to host them on trips and other events.

We strive to make the sport and it opportunities visible and accessible to all students and staff at the University and we will rely on our PADI X Interns to take that message to the UVa community energetically and consistently throughout the academic year.

What We Expect From PADI X Interns:

An active Scuba Club at UVa is very much in the interests of promoting scuba diving and we encourage all PADI X Interns to be active members of the club.

We expect the Intern to be active with the full PADI X Team which includes the Instructors and Divemasters on grounds and the Dive Connections staff.

The PADI X Team will develop a general marketing strategy in support of both the Scuba Club at UVa and the PADI X Instructional team and we expect the intern to work to document the plan and their part in it. Further we expect them to support the plan, and document the results.

Each Intern will create business plan for him or herself. The plan will contain his or her personal goals for dive training and also his or her specific plans to support the general marketing plan. We expect the intern to document the plan, follow through on those goals and projects and provide written documentation of the results.

The intern will meet at least once each semester team leadership to review documentation and set ongoing expectations.

Overall we would expect the time commitment would average 4 hours per week on a flexible schedule to fit most student schedules.

What the PADI X Intern Can Expect from Us:

Dive Connections and the PADI X instructional team will endeavor to understand the Intern’s personal goals and do all in our power to help them achieve those goals while at the University including and especially in advancing thei scuba education and credentials.

The PADI X Team including Dive Connections will act to support the Scuba Club at UVa in all of its activates and events.

Dive Connections will assist the PADI X Team and the intern in developing marketing plans, supporting events of the club, and all agreed marketing initiatives.

PADI X Internship Benefits

Dive Connections provides benefits to our staff, employees and to PADI X Interns. In addition to any group event pricing provided to the members of the Scuba Club of UVa, the Intern receives these tangible benefits:

· Waived Instructional Fees through Master Scuba Diver and/or Divemaster

· Educational Materials at PADI Member Pricing

· 15% OFF Pricing for most scuba equipment and accessories.

· 15% OFF Club Pricing for Rentals, Air Fills and Equipment Servicing.

Beyond Internship - PADI X Dive Professional

To make a scuba diving program visible, accessible and sustainable in the University community, we believe that it is important for us to have 3-4 active dive professionals working with us among the student body with at least 2 of them as fully functioning instructors.

If you want to become a PADI X Dive Professional, we would be excited to talk with you about becoming an Affiliated Dive Professional with Dive Connections.

Affiliation would not only extend the benefits of the internship program but also provide enhanced professional level benefits for shop resources, discounts, keyman programs and professional liability programs, not to mention the opportunity to earn money.

Ask the existing PADI X Professionals about their experience with us and please don’t hesitate to contact any member of the PADI X Team including Chip Earle directly if you have any ideas to enhance the diving community.

Join the PADI X Team

How to Qualify:

We are currently seeking 2 Interns for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Candidate must:

Be a Certified Diver

Submit a one page document stating why you would like to be a part of the PADI X Internship Program

Submit a list of goals that you have for yourself in diving

Submit a list of ideas as to how you might encourage people to become involved in diving

All submission should be sent to Jane Carrick at jvc2b@virginia.edu.

The Process:

The PADI X Team will review all the applications and supporting documents and select 2 students to be granted internships for this year. Those chosen will meet with Chip Earle of Dive Connections to solidify goals and expectations. The internship is extended for one semester at a time and is renewed based on performance relative to the goals set.

We thank you very much for your interest in and support of scuba diving. If you have any questions. Please feel free to contact us.

The PADI X Team