Winner of the Elite Instructor My PADI Challenge: Linda Eckardt. Wait, what?

I am one of 15 of all of the worlds PADI professionals who just won the Elite Instructor My PADI Challenge. That means that I right now am ranked one of the most productive and valued scuba instructors in the world in the eyes of PADI – the world’s largest scuba diving organization. Quite unexpected, but then again, if you count the amount of people I certified last summer it makes sense. The greatest thing about being recognized like this is the knowledge of what course I taught to receive this status: The AWARE Coral Reef conservation course. It is a purely informative course aimed to enlighten youths and anyone willing to listen about why it is so important to care for our marine ecosystems. Last summer I taught more of these courses than I thought was possible, partly because no other instructor took interest in teaching them, but mostly because I am truly passionate about the topic. And so Karma comes around again and rewards those who do things for the love of it.