Attending a liberal arts university means trying a variety of new things. Whether it be studying a new subject or communicating with new kinds of people, it is all a part of the liberal arts experience. Senior Sage Henke, an environmental science and philosophy double major, jumped into an entirely new experience through Linfield: scuba diving.
In January 2026, Henke is traveling abroad for Linfield’s “Diving Into Coral Reef Ecology” course in the Bahamas with professors Jeremy Weisz and Kevin Curry. Being a biology and a journalism and media studies (JAMS) class, this course focuses on ecology and filmmaking. To participate in the course, students must become open-water scuba certified.
Although Henke has taken a couple of other Linfield study-abroad courses in the past, she wants more. She has never taken a JAMS course before and wants to expand her toolbelt.
When the time rolled around to actually begin the scuba certification, Henke was both nervous and excited. She was nervous about the technical aspects of scuba diving and the fear of drowning, but she was excited to learn a new skill.
While Henke began training in the pool, doing basic and technical skills, it is also required to complete four open-water dives to become certified. So, she and her fellow divers-in-training headed to Hoodsport, Wash., to complete their open-water diving certifications.
After a grueling four-hour drive, Henke was less scared than she thought she would be diving in the ocean for the first time. She felt prepared when she got out in the water thanks to the skilled scuba instructors. However, diving was difficult to get used to. Henke struggled with maintaining neutral buoyancy and her physical and spatial awareness. The scuba gear was also a little awkward and difficult to get used to.
“The mental aspect of being okay with looking a little silly was a hurdle at first,” said Henke. “There’s no way to look cool in a full wetsuit, hood and mask, and that was a tough pill to swallow initially.”
Diving was a little overwhelming at first, but Henke enjoyed the new experience. Her favorite aspect of diving at Hoodsport was seeing marine life up close. She noted rockfish, starfish and thousands of krill.
Although the October Washington water wasn’t the warmest, Henke was grateful for the excursion.
“I’d say this whole experience has been a very tangible example of the importance of getting out of my comfort zone,” said Henke.
More exciting experiences are to come for Henke as she leaves for the Bahamas in the new year. She is most excited about the wildlife she will encounter on the trip. In addition, the water will be warmer, have higher visibility and divers will wear less neoprene.
“The Hoodsport trip felt like a good boot camp for all other diving excursions,” Henke said. “But being from Oregon, it was novel to scuba dive in the PNW at all.”
Henke’s scuba diving experience is a prime example of liberal arts in action: learning new things, meeting new people and diving into uncertainty.
