Students from Holland College's Commercial Diving program, located in Georgetown, P.E.I., recently attended the Underwater Intervention diving conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In between taking in a little local flavour, exploring the French Quarter and attending industry sponsored events, the students toured the conference show at the New Orleans Convention Centre. The show, consisting of over 350 exhibitors, provided the students with an opportunity to meet and greet both existing industry leaders as well as up-and-comers.

Highlights for the students included the opportunity to speak at length with some of the “rock stars” of the commercial diving industry such as Phil Nuytten: father of the deep sea one atmosphere diving suit commonly known as the Newt Suit, and Leszek Gorski, the inventor of the Gorski G2000SS dive helmet. The students also had the opportunity to preview the latest and greatest dive gear, prototypes and new inventions, giving the students a better perspective on where the industry is going.

The Holland College delegation was also treated to a tour by Cal Dive, the largest diving company in the world. The private tour took the students through two of their cutting edge, live-aboard dive support vessels.

Finally, prospective employers were on hand to help guide and advise the students not only about their careers, but also about life under the sea. All in all, the trip was a huge success, the students left with an expanded knowledge base, industry contacts and a better understanding of the world they are entering. Just as importantly, a good time was had by all.