“There is this deep-seeded admiration and love for the ocean inside me, and it has always drawn me towards the waves. While others may feel uncomfortable or uneasy underwater, it is the one place I am entirely at peace.” - Holly Summers
My name is Holly Summers, and I am Miss Scuba Australia 2023. I am also a proud Cudgenburra woman with roots in the Palawa people of Tasmania. My journey was an unexpected one, I actually laughed off the idea of attending a Beauty Pageant information session when I was first tagged in the post. Nonetheless, I attended and became interested, but thought I was unlikely to be picked. After several interviews and meetings, the fateful day arrived where I got a call from the organisers - Jeremy and Allan. In classic Allan fashion, he led me to believe that I was unsuccessful before dropping the act and congratulating me for becoming the new Miss Scuba Australia. We would get the amazing news a few weeks later that each country could bring two participants and I would be heading off to Maylasia with the stunning Sadē Goldsmith.
I put my studies on hold to help prepare, but I had no idea of what to expect and it was overwhelming to say the least. Regardless, the 3 weeks I spent in Malaysia was one of the most enriching and empowering experiences I’ve ever had. The other girls we met were simply incredible, and I’m still in contact with several of them nearly a year later. I was already an Advanced scuba diver but found that my skills improved through helping the girls who were fresh to the hobby. Most nights while on the Island of Mabul, I’d join the dive masters and resort staff in a sing-along after dinner. I felt increasingly more comfortable and confident in my skin, rediscovering beauty inside and out that I had had stopped being able to see. I’ve never been much of a poser but being in front of the camera (with Sadē guidance behind the scenes), created this unique sense of confidence I hadn’t experienced before. While I’m always very comfortable cleaning up beaches or diving or speaking in front of an audience, my only previous experience with pageantry was when I was a pre-teen. I was well and truly outside of my comfort zone, but inevitably ended up surprising myself. Opening myself up was easy though considering the close friendships formed in such a short time span.
In the year since, I have grown and experienced so much. I resumed my studies at the University of Queensland where I’m studying Wildlife Science and Marine Biology courses. I continue to work at Sea World as a part of the Marine Science team, specifically in Marine Education where I’m based in Shark Bay. I love my job because I have a platform to spread the message of conservation and dispel some of the prevalent misconceptions about the world’s coolest animal – Sharks. I also became a qualified occupational aquarium diver during this time, and will be in the next course to advance on to my occupational scientific dive licence. I have also continued my work with Humpbacks and High-Rises, which is the largest marine mammal monitoring in Southeast Queensland and has been operating for the last 13 years. I am also a Board Member and love every moment I get to spend around this awe-inspiring species of marine megafauna. I’ve had even more opportunities to assist in the tagging of humpback whales, in addition to other research and volunteer work I’ve participated in. I also continue to work in the Ecology field and have become increasingly politically active.
One of the most incredible things to happen since the Miss Scuba International pageant was my trip to Fiji. I spent a whole week just diving in this absolutely unbelievable underwater world. Over half the dives we did were at the Bistro, where we dived with huge bull sharks, lemon sharks, nurse sharks, silvertip sharks, grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks and the most beautiful 5-6 metre long tiger shark named Warrioress. During those dives, we came face to face with all of these species with no protective barrier between us and the sharks. We absolutely needed to have a healthy dose of respect for powerful animals and to be smart when potentially in their presence. However, I cannot emphasise enough that unless you have a shark on the brink of starvation, they are utterly uninterested in humans as a food source, and that was obvious while spending time with them.
I am so lucky to have had this clear purpose and unwavering passion for the last 22 years of my life. It has influenced every decision I’ve ever made. Even with Warrioress and large bull sharks inches from my face, I felt not one ounce of fear. I was entirely at peace. What terrifies me to my core, however, is living in a world one day where our oceans are entirely devoid of the animals I love so much… which is exactly where we are heading if serious changes aren’t made.
This experience reinforced that working towards saving sharks is my purpose. I know my beautiful friends and like-minded fellow ocean conservationists from Miss Scuba International, will be by my side as we create better outcomes for our planet. The time I spent in Malaysia was an amazing opportunity, but the real gift was the impact it had after the flight home.
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