Salute to Spouses Blog

We're excited to be blogging about the latest topics in military life. We want to keep you informed on topics such as current events, education, career advice, etc. Feel free to post comments or questions to any of our entries.
Cool Jobs: Air Force Husband Opens Dive Shop in Hawaii

Air Force husband Michael Kurt first looked for work after PCSing to Hawaii with his wife, Christine, for one simple reason: the family needed extra money to send their son to private school.

He landed a job at the NEX in Honolulu, working in the toy section. Across the aisle, however, is where his future waited. The local business, Dive Oahu, ran a booth inside the Navy exchange and Michael spent his extra time chatting with employees there about the sport of scuba.

He learned that the MyCAA program, Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts, would pay for his classes. Later, his wife could transfer her 9-11 GI Bill benefits to him so that he could study scuba full time and earn more credentials.

Now, Michael is a certified scuba instructor, is working towards his master instructor certification and is preparing to buy the first boat for his new company, Imperial Divers.

“From the first moment I entered the program, I was hooked,” he said.

The experience was life changing. Michael was “raised in the Army and decided to upgrade and married to the Air Force,” he said with a chuckle. Christine has spent 14 years in the Air Force and the couple has been married 12. Michael said his job has been to help and be the supportive military spouse.

When he discovered his passion for diving, Christine reciprocated.

“You need a good support system and I have a phenomenal support system,” he said. “My biggest support is Christine. Having a spouse that believes in you – there is nothing greater than that.”

Now, the family has opened Imperial Divers and will be purchasing the outfit’s first dive boat this year.

“We’re super excited about that,” he said.

The couple has built the framework for the business as a service based industry, he said. They cater to their customers and are willing to teach them scuba where they are comfortable – on the beach, in their home, hanging at a restaurant – never in uncomfortable desks in a classroom.

And most importantly, they aim to keep their students diving.

“An instructor of mine told me once you certify someone, keep them diving and the request to get more certifications will naturally fall into place. I took it to heart and went out and took people diving for free, just had a good time and sure as could be, here I was selling more classes just because I was taking people out for free,” Michael said.

Michael also teaches for one of the dive schools located on the Army base in Hawaii. There he found that students who suffered from PTSD found that being under the water helped their symptoms. Christine and Michael’s dream is to open a scuba shop where PTSD sufferers can have access to mental health counselors and scuba.

And, Hawaii is not their last stop. The pair have plans to establish their business in Hawaii and then open shops in New Zealand, the Philippines and Fiji so their clients can move between the four locations and experience some of the best dive locations on the planet.

These are big dreams, Michael knows that. But, he is growing and learning along the way.

His advice for other spouses, “First, never use your own money. That’s a sure way to failure. Rule number two, you will fail and you cannot give up. If you really believe in your dream and you want to make it happen you absolutely have to keep fighting. There will be crushing setbacks where you think you can’t go on but you have to continue. You know the old cliché, nothing ventured, nothing gained? You’ve got to take risks.”

And, what’s a better risk than living your dream job?

 

$6,000 SCHOLARSHIP
For Military Spouses
Apply for the Salute to Spouses scholarship today and begin your education! You’ll be on the way to your dream career.
BLOG CATEGORIES
MONTHLY ARCHIVES

Salute to Spouses Scholarship Recipients

© 2013 SALUTE TO SPOUSES ALL RIGHTS RESERVED