Mia DaPonte recently became the youngest female diver in the USA — and only the second in the country of any gender — to earn the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification.
Twelve is the earliest possible age allowed by PADI for a Master Diver certification. Matteo Miller earned his certification last August.
Prior to getting the Master Diver certification, DaPonte needed to earn certifications in PADI Open Water Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water, PADI Rescue Diver and complete a minimum of 50 dives. Additionally, she holds more than six PADI Specialty Certifications including CPR & First Aid, Equipment Specialist, Underwater Photography, Underwater Navigation and more. She also holds a black belt in karate.
For her Master Scuba Diver certification, DaPonte passed her final e-learning classroom exam on her birthday, February 18th, the first day that the exam could be released to her. She then had to perform three certification dives on the same day.
During the first dive, DaPonte and her instructor, Seamus Hastings, dove to a depth of 58ft (17.68m) to meet her deep dive requirement. She also demonstrated the required rescue procedures by lifting an “unconscious” adult to the surface from the ocean floor and administering rescue breathing techniques while towing them to safety.
To perfect this skill, DaPonte spent countless hours in the controlled environment of a pool drilling to ensure she could execute the technique in the open ocean. The majority of her training was in her hometown of East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
To carry out her certification dives, DaPonte, her family along with her instructors Allison Trainor and Seamus Hastings from Dive on It Scuba traveled to Blue Angel Dive Resort in Cozumel, Mexico.
DaPonte said she felt “proud” of her achievement:
“Even though I passed, not all of it was easy. The rescue portion was the hardest physically for me. It was not easy to lift someone to the surface and get in the right position above them for each rescue breath. I was also very nervous about taking my final e-learning exam on my birthday. This feels like an amazing experience, I made a lot of friends in Mexico and throughout my training over the past two years, especially my instructor, Seamus. He is the best. Accomplishing my goal feels like a dream come true.”
