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Current mood:  adventurous Category: Jobs, Work, Careers
Read about how Paul Leland Faulstich III, last year’s Go Pro Challenge winner, left a career in banking, became a PADI Pro and racked up enough points to take home the DOXA dive watch in the 2008 Go PRO Challenge Professional Rating contest. 
Interview with IDC Staff Instructor Paul Leland Faulstich III of Grove Scuba, Coconut Grove, Florida
Paul's Story: I grew up on an island in Ocean City, Maryland and was very active in water sports and boating. Diving was never a big sport in Ocean City and when we went on trips it was always just easier to go snorkeling. Then, as I got older, it was always on my “list” of things I wanted to accomplish, but it wasn’t until I moved in with my future wife - PADI Assistant Instructor Maaike Petrie - and she told me about all the great diving she had done as a child in the Red Sea. I finally realized that I needed to cross scuba diving off my list. Maaike signed me up for the PADI Open Water certification course at Ocean Enterprises in San Diego - and I was hooked. I worked my way up to PADI Rescue Diver and had dreams of diving as a part time job, but couldn’t figure out how to fit it into my busy schedule...until now.
Why did you decide to Go PRO? We moved to Miami so my wife could finish her graduate degree in Marine Geology and I thought I would pay her back for getting me certified. My luck, William (Bill) Lamp’l, a PADI Master Instructor, opened a new PADI Dive Center - Grove Scuba in Coconut Grove, Florida - a block away from my house; I signed us up for the PADI Divemaster course and Bill and I became good friends. At that time, I was working for Citibank, but the bank industry was crashing. I saw an opportunity to work toward my instructor rating and decided to pursue diving with the new goal of one day opening my own dive center. How did you accomplish so much so quickly? Honestly, I would have probably stopped at Open Water Scuba Instructor in 2008 if not for the Go PRO Challenge. Bill and I sat down in May after I finished my IDC with Dixie Diver’s under PADI Course Director Arilton Pavan and realized with the busy schedule we had planned for last summer, I could hit the high mark of 175 certifications. Then I came up with a six month plan to finish certain certifications each month so I could stay on track. It’s funny; Iactually did two more specialties, Equipment Specialist (completed at DEMA) and Handicapped Scuba Instructor, which I didn’t even apply for the PADI rating. What has the Go PRO Challenge experience meant to you? It made me realize the importance of setting a goal, writing it down and then sharing it with everyone so they can help you along the way. What rating did you enjoy the most?
I would have to say my IDC Staff rating, with PADI Course Director Richard Harley from Scuba Emporium. He has certified more than 1,000 PADI Instructors and in my opinion, added so much beyond what you learn in a typical IDC. What do you see in your future as a PADI Pro? I plan on continuing to pursue dive training as a career and become a PADI Course Director. People are so concerned about the economy and the world nowadays; if we can offer an escape, even if only one tank at a time, then we can all get through this to better times.
Are you excited about getting the DOXA dive watch? I didn’t do this for the watch. In fact, I am actually giving the watch away to Bill for helping me get all the certifications. If it were not for the conversation we had in May, I most likely would not have even attempted the challenge. Bill is working towards his goal of becoming a PADI Course Director* and he felt that having this goal for both me and the shop would be a good stepping stone and measuring stick for what Grove Scuba and its instructors were capable of. Because of his dedication and commitment to the PADI system of diver education and his passion for the sport of diving, I feel it’s only fitting to give him the watch and have him share in this distinct honor of being a part of the Go PRO Challenge. Interested in the 2009 Professional Rating Contest? Visit padi.com/gpc *As of 23 July 2009 Bill Lamp'l did receive his PADI Course Director Rating
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