Scuba, the Harvard way
“If you’re low on air, you will gradually lose consciousness,” Justin Sola ’14 tells his scuba diving partner, Alice Xiang ’13, as they perform safety checks on each other’s alternate air sources. Outside, it’s one of the coldest days of the year, and yet the two are decked out in swimsuits, dreaming of faraway places. “We’re in St. Lucia right now,” says scuba instructor Tori Steinmeier. “On a boat, with all our friends.” If only. But these Harvard students are getting the next best thing: scuba lessons inside the Malkin Athletic Center that will earn them PADI open water certification to explore the underwater realm of St. Lucia — and anywhere else in the world. Twin sisters Ann-Marie (left) and Kristina Barrett ’16 check their regulators before getting in the pool. Sola and Xiang are just two of many students who, for a multitude of reasons, returned to campus early after holiday break. The period...