Hillary Kenyon - Waterman Competition Winner

SCUBAPRO, PADI, Beneath the Sea and Stan Waterman would like to congratulate the winner of the “Are you a Waterman?” competition, Hillary Kenyon. The competition, which honored Stan Waterman’s extensive contributions and was a means of giving back to the dive community, was geared towards inspiring the next generation of watermen.

Hillary won $5,000 worth of SCUBAPRO gear and $400 of advanced dive training from PADI so she can follow in Stan’s hard to fill “foot pockets”. The competition was tough, with many qualified and inspired entrants. In fact, Stan even said “Had I been competing 60 years ago, I wouldn’t have had a chance.”

Hillary, who started diving at 18, just graduated with an Environmental Science major from University of Connecticut, where she was also the head of the SCUBA club. She wants to dedicate her life to protecting oceanic and coastal resources, and recently got her Rescue and AAUS Diving certifications to fulfill her long-term goal of becoming an instructor and technical research diver. Her story and video will be featured on the SCUBAPRO site, and we will be sharing news and photos from Hillary as she obtains her training and gear and puts it to good use via our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/scubapro).

When told she was the winner, Hillary was exuberant. She had kind words for all the gracious competition sponsors “This is literally a dream come true, everything that I care about revolves around the ocean, conservation and diving. Thank you Stan Waterman, your work and fervor have helped inspire my passionate energy and love for the ocean. And thank you SCUBAPRO, PADI, and BTS for this tremendous opportunity to help make my dreams a reality!”

Thanks to all of our entrants; the decision was a difficult one and we are thrilled to know there are so many amazing waterman out there.

To learn more and view Hillary’s winning entry, visit the website, www.scubapro.com/waterman.