Support Miss SCUBA Peru & diversify the oceans!

I am very honored (and still in some disbelief) that I have won the titles of SCUBA Queen California 2024 and Miss SCUBA Peru 2024 through the SCUBA Queen USA and Miss SCUBA International diving pageants! I had never heard of a pageant for women divers, but the opportunity to get more SCUBA diving experience, connect with worldwide women diver/conservationists, and funnel any prize money towards scholarships for other aspiring divers felt too important to pass up.

THE PAGEANT

Competitors from around 25 countries are expected to travel to Malaysia in November for the opportunity to compete for the Miss SCUBA International title. We will be lodged at Smart Divers Resort, with meals, inter-island travel, dive trips, professional workshops, PADI trainings, and some hair, makeup, and swag covered by the pageant. However, roundtrip flights and a slew of very specific items (general list below - #SavingOceansThroughBeauty is that work!) are at the contestants’ own cost.

To keep my costs and consumption low, I am repurposing, thrifting, and borrowing 90% of my mandated competition supplies, and have been reaching out to request specific items from donors/sponsors with strong environmental health ratings/goals. All of these supplies will allow me to fully represent my values and my birth country powerfully during the packed two weeks of competition.

In addition to the overall international title, I will be competing for the following titles:

WHY AM I DOING THIS?

This is one of the most involved projects that I have taken on! I am not only doing this to continue improving my ocean advocacy, and further establish my diving abilities and sector familiarity. What motivates me more is the opportunity to have a platform to push for new faces in the still very homogenous world of diving, and deliver an ocean justice message that encompasses both people and planet. I have really pushed myself over the last several years to get to this point in my marine education and diving career, and I have several scholarships, state programs, and mentors to deeply thank for the heavy financial lift that it often takes to dive. So I am most looking forward to the opportunity to win any and all titles which come with prize money, so that I can re-invest all of it into spaces that help to remove barriers to water proficiency, safety, conservation, and diving.

It is also so special to me that I am the first EVER Miss SCUBA Peru. While there has been at least one contestant from Mexico in the past, I am the first South American to ever compete. Through my graduate capstone research project and in my seahorse research with Project Seahorse, I saw firsthand how important formalized ocean protections are for the future of Peru. It would mean the world to me to raise awareness of the powerful productive waters off the coast of Peru, and our mighty community of Peruvian ocean conservationists, advocates, and divers.

I hope to count on your support to complete this leg of my ocean journey!

WHAT HAVE I DONE SO FAR AS QUEEN?

In my reign thus far, I have:

I am committed to continuing to uphold the SCUBA Queen slogan, building confident ocean ambassadors, through increasing ocean awareness at my local bookstore, supporting a local river cleanup, and more! There are still so many more ocean and advocacy hours I want to log.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT?

There are a variety of financial costs associated with this project so I am hoping to break even. As noted, pageants are INVOLVED. Even if you are unable to financially donate, there are plenty of other ways to support me, so please read on!

Must-buys

TOTAL: $2,977

Nice-to-haves

TOTAL: $1,299

GRAND TOTAL: $4,276

ANY amount that you can donate* is beyond appreciated!

I CAN’T DONATE MONEY. WHAT CAN I DO?

With your help, I will be able to continue living out my values and chasing after that ocean career dream that I have had ever since I learned to build my first ROV at age 12 :)

*If you prefer to donate to me directly via Venmo, PayPal or Cashapp, that is welcomed.