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British Virgin Islands - 2022, Session 2

Meet the Staff!!

Location: West End, Tortola

Hi there!

Team Xanadu here, ready to start an amazing session! We’ve spent the past few weeks working hard to get our boat (home) ready to welcome you and are so excited. We’ve got sails, dive gear, food, marine science equipment (anyone interested in some shark dissections???), and most importantly, our stellar (and most fun) team is all on board and ready to go. Sephena, however, is at the airport waiting to greet the new arrivals at the airport in St. Thomas! Keep reading for a brief intro to our staff, Jake, Sephena, and Liz:

Jake first joined AQ as a student in 2016, and in 2020 he became a PADI dive instructor. Towards the end of 2022, he completed his Yachtmaster certification. Jake is currently attending Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he studies business management. Before Covid-19, he also helped instruct at Rollins’ scuba diving program. Growing up in New Hampshire, he spent a lot of time snow skiing and water skiing. He is excited to teach students how to waterski in addition to diving. His favorite diving is in the British Virgin Islands, and he can’t wait to share the beauty of the underwater world with other divers. He is also very excited to have the opportunity to give new AQ students the same fantastic experience he had as a student for so many summers.

Liz first joined ActionQuest as a Dolphin student in 2015. She then became a PADI scuba instructor in 2018 and returned to ActionQuest as a staff member for the summer of 2021 and 2022. Before working as a scuba instructor at AQ, Liz worked in a dive shop in CT. Liz also taught at her college, the University of Florida, where she was a marine biology major. Liz worked on many marine projects studying everything from sharks, turtles, and spiny lobsters. Now she plans to attend graduate school at McGill for a Ph.D. in Biology following her time at ActionQuest, where she can’t wait to meet all the students and have the BVI break everyone needs after this year!

Sephena got her Open Water certification in 2018 and attended ActionQuest for the first time that summer. She returned to the BVI to participate in the Rescue Program the following year. Sephena currently attends the University of California Santa Cruz, where she studies Marine Biology. She conducts research in the California kelp forest during the school year and works as a divemaster at a local shop. When Sephena isn’t diving, she is on bike rides, playing lacrosse, or spending time with family and friends. This summer, Sephena is excited to be a part of the AQ team and trade the cold waters of California for the BVI’s tropical temperatures. Sephena will be headed off to Corsica, France, to research the ecosystem and marine environment at the end of the summer.