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John Lee P.O. Box 990 Dubois, WY 82513

January 24, 2010
 * Letter of Intent #5**

Senior Project Advisory Committee Dubois High School 314 Helmer St. Dubois, WY 82513

Dear Senior Project Advisory Board:

The general areas of interest for my senior project are the history of scuba diving and why and how scuba diving is performed today. I am interested in scuba diving because a couple of years ago I met and spent time with one of my dad’s clients who is a master scuba diver. He travels throughout the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico scuba diving. Listening to his stories and adventures has always intrigued me, and now I am very interested to learn more about scuba diving and the underwater world. Not only do I want to learn to scuba dive and become certified but I also want to travel somewhere to actually scuba dive. As of today I really do not know anything about scuba diving and I have never experienced anything within this area. I am very interested to learn and cannot wait to start my project.

Some specific areas my paper will focus on are the history of scuba diving, how it originated and developed and the improvements in equipment. Also I am very interested in learning how and where it is used today in the world. I already know it is an important way to rescue people from underwater but I want to go deeper and research how it is being used. I understand that divers are often paid to perform tasks underwater, including civil engineering tasks found with oil exploration, underwater welding or offshore construction. This would be a way to learn more about engineering. One of the most exciting components is the chance to view underwater life and creatures while diving. The client I spoke of earlier is Dave Guenther, a master and certified scuba diver, whom would guide me in the right directions to scuba diving off the coast of Mexico. As of today, this trip is no longer possible as part of the Senior Project, however, I plan to pursue the trip on my own.

After completing my research paper and having many conversations and checks with Dave Guenther, I can relate my learning to my physical project. My main focus will be in the area of the history of scuba diving and how it is used today. I would enroll in a Full Open Water PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certification course. This course consists of five full days and requires 30 hours of training in classroom lectures and water skill development. This course includes five confined water dives and four open water dives. I would then receive my Full Open Water PADI certification. Originally my plan to complete dives at Cozumel, Mexico, was approved, but now my plan has been changed by the Sr. Project Committee. I will complete my Open Water Dives at Sea Base, Utah, this February. This will be a major challenge and stretch for me as I have never done anything in the area of scuba diving before. I would learn new skills and have these skills all throughout my life. The people that would be involved in this project are my mentor, Dave Guenther, my advisor, Mr. Highstreet, and a certified PADI dive instructor from Western Divers LTD. The potential cost of this project would roughly be around 1800 dollars. The potential time I will be spending on this project is 100 or more hours. Some possible resources that I will be using are PADI, a scuba diving program, the Internet, and Scuba diving manuals, books and magazines.

Finally, I understand the definition of plagiarism as the illegal use or copying another’s work or something they have said and claiming it as your own. The repercussions of an act of plagiarism could result in a failing grade, suspension, possibility of expulsion and possibly problems with the law.

Student: John Lee

Parents: John and Janet Lee