University News
Change of Venue/Time for Diveheart Pool Demo; WIU Student to Dive
October 12, 2010
MACOMB, IL – Unscheduled but necessary maintenance of Western Illinois University's Brophy Hall pool put a damper on the original plans for Wednesday's (Oct. 13) demonstration of adaptive scuba for people with disabilities by Diveheart Foundation president and founder Jim Elliott, but only for a little while.
WIU Campus Recreation stepped up and the overview of adaptive scuba and live demonstration Wednesday will be at the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center Aquatics Center, beginning at 7 p.m., one-half hour later than originally scheduled. WIU students need to bring their IDs to check in. The demonstration is open free to interested community members.
Joining in the diving demonstration will be Margaret "Maggie" Brown (Tinley Park, IL), a recreation, park and tourism administration (RPTA) major with an emphasis in therapeutic recreation, who is scheduled to graduate in December. Brown, who broke her neck in a diving accident when she was 11 years old, is a C5/C6 incomplete quadriplegic. She uses a wheelchair for long distances.
"I have known Jim since I was 14. I've been on two diving trips with Diveheart to the Florida Keys, one as a participant and one as a peer counselor," said Brown, who received her scuba certification with Diveheart in 2005. "I have also gone diving with Jim a few times at Haigh Quarry in Kankakee (IL)."
Brown said she wants to help with this event "because (it) is a great chance to give WIU students and the community a chance to see an activity that maybe they haven't seen or done before, especially by a person who has a disability.
"I hope to open up people's minds and give them a bit of insight as to what it's like to have a disability and what it's like to scuba dive," she added.
In the short-term, Brown hopes to find a full-time position in the therapeutic recreation field, as well as find a place to live on her own. Her long-term goals include getting a master's degree in occupational therapy and combine that with what she does now.
"I would like to work in a clinical rehabilitation setting with people who have recently obtained spinal cord injuries and be able to start therapy, teaching clients basic activities of daily living – such as dressing – and then progressing to working on skills for recreational activities and being as independent in recreation as possible," Brown said. "I love taking clients on actual trips, such as kayaking, white water rafting, scuba diving and other great events."
The schedule for Wednesday (Oct. 13) is
1-2 p.m. Horrabin Hall 1 – Overview of adaptive scuba
2:30-3:30 p.m. Horrabin Hall Gym – Emphasis on Teaching
4:30-5:30 p.m. Macomb Community Room, City Hall – Overview of adaptive scuba (City Hall, 232 East Jackson St.)
7 p.m. - ? – Student Recreation Center Aquatics Center – Overview of adaptive scuba and live demonstration
Individuals who would like to request accommodations to fully participate in these events should contact WIU Disability Resource Center at (309) 298-2512.
Diveheart presentations are co-sponsored by Western's Student Therapeutic Recreation Society and the SCUBA Club. The groups hope to generate enough interest in accessible scuba diving to offer a "buddy" diving certificate during the 2011 Spring Semester, said Rachel Smith, an RPTA instructor.
For more information, contact Smith at (309) 298-2969 or RE-Smith@wiu.edu.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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