Into the deep: UVA alumna helps students take the scuba plunge

November 20, 2025
Elizabeth Armstrong throwing a frisbee underwater

Fourth-year student Elizabeth Armstrong tosses an underwater disc during a scuba diving class session in the North Grounds Recreation Center pool. Students learn buoyancy control, equipment handling and safety procedures in the pool before moving to open water certification dives. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

Gracie Jones stood at the edge of the quarry in Schuyler, weighed down by 30 pounds of scuba gear and a weight belt calculated to 10% of her body weight plus 6 pounds.

The pool at the University of Virginia’s North Grounds Recreation Center, where the fourth-year student had been practicing for weeks, maxed out at 7 feet deep. The platform she was about to descend to sat 15 feet underwater – more than double the depth of the pool. Below that, the quarry dropped to 75 feet of water.

The mechanical engineering major had waited two semesters on the waitlist for this class. Her family and friends had urged her to get certified for years. Now here she was, about to complete her first open-water dive toward earning her scuba certification.

Group of students in the pool with scuba geat on with instructor Lynn Samuel

Students listen to instructor Lynn Samuel during a classroom session on diving safety and procedures at the North Grounds Recreation Center. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

“I was terrified,” Jones said. But instructor Lynn Samuel stayed with her the entire time, calmly guiding her through the breathing techniques and reminding her they could surface at any point if needed.

While the open water dives aren’t required to pass the course itself, they are required for full scuba certification. Students can complete them locally in the quarry or at a dive destination of their choice with a referral documenting their UVA coursework.

Jones descended. And somewhere between the nervousness at the surface and 37 feet down, the fear went away. The feeling of weightlessness, essentially flying underwater while breathing normally, made all the pool practice worth it. Jones could see fish and the dive platforms.

“After the dive, I was crazy proud of myself,” Jones said. “I called my mom all giddy and was like ‘You’ll never guess what I just did!”

From behind a group of students with scuba gear standing in an old flooded rock quarry

Students prepare for their open water certification dive at a quarry in Schuyler. The scuba course requires four dives over two days to complete certification. (Contributed photo)

Through this scuba course in the kinesiology program, UVA students can earn a lifetime certification they can take with them from Charlottesville to coral reefs around the world.

Samuel, the instructor, earned her scuba certification in the same UVA course as a graduate student in 1984 and has been teaching it for more than two decades. She now works as a pathologist and as the medical director of a wound center in Warrenton.

“I really like being part of the UVA community, and have been for a long time,” she said. “I enjoy working in Charlottesville and having this piece of my life continue.”

Winter Wahoo Wear, Shop Now
Winter Wahoo Wear, Shop Now

Her favorite part of the class is teaching students at the exact age she was when she fell in love with diving.

“It’s fun to introduce other people to the sport,” Samuel said. “The technical parts of the diving equipment, the weightlessness, the feeling of being in the water and exploring underwater – I like introducing others to that world.”

Samuel’s connection to Allen Whetzel goes back decades. Samuel taught him scuba when he was working with the Culpeper rescue squad and wanted to get into diving rescue. Now, Whetzel owns University Dive & Hobby Shop, where Samuel’s students get their hands on scuba gear for class.

Half underwater, half above photo of Lynn Samuel, left and Brian Alewine, right wearing scuba gear standing in a pool talking

Samuel, left, works with fourth-year student Brian Alewine during a class session in the North Grounds Recreation Center pool. Samuel, who earned her own scuba certification as a UVA graduate student, has taught the course for more than two decades. (Photo by Lathan Goumas, University Communications)

The course attracts everyone from engineering students seeking escape from rigorous coursework, to aspiring marine scientists, to students who just want to try something completely new.

Jones, along with several other current class members, fits in the first and third categories. She said she enrolled to get a break from her courses in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

“I’m finally done with my technical classes, and I wanted to do something different and unique,” Jones said. “I wanted to do something new and have fun with it.”

Those who pass the swim tests, pool sessions and open water dives in the Schuyler quarry emerge with something rare: a skill that has nothing to do with their studies, everything to do with adventure and the potential to last a lifetime.

After this semester ends, Jones said she isn’t done with scuba diving. She’s already signed up for advanced scuba next semester, another course Samuel teaches.

Advanced scuba takes certified divers deeper – literally and figuratively. Students learn underwater navigation using a compass, practice night dives and tackle more challenging conditions. It is the next level of certification, and for Jones, it serves as preparation for what comes after graduation.

She’s been researching Roatan, the largest island of Honduras, known for its crystal-clear water and colorful coral reefs – a contrast to the quarry where she completed her certification dives. “I just want to go anywhere with clear water,” Jones said.

The plan is to convince her mechanical engineering friends from the course to join her. After wobbling into the quarry together in their wetsuits and weight belts and keeping each other accountable through a semester of Monday night pool sessions, a graduation trip seems like the perfect way to put their certifications to use.

“I’d recommend taking the class because it gives you a lifetime certification and you never know when you might want to scuba dive,” Jones said.

Media Contacts

Renee Grutzik

University News Associate Office of University Communications

You May Also Like