IE MBA - Candidate Pedro Mendes - Show us an activity you enjoy doing. Tell us how you think it contributes to your personal and professional development

1. Question I - Show us an activity you
enjoy doing. Tell us how you think it
contributes to your personal and
professional development.
By: Pedro Mendes

2. Trekking
I enjoy trekking,
especially surrounded by
beautiful nature
My favorite activities
Ski
I love skiing. Being in
contact with the mountain
is a refreshing experience
Jogging
It helps me to stay fit and
healthy

3. Scuba diving is my favorite activity.
• Advanced open water PADI certified
• Cavern diver, drift diver, deep diver, night diver,
underwater navigator and wreck diver specialties
• More than 70 logged dives
• My next objectives are rescue diver and dive master
certifications
Scuba diving contributes to my personal and professional
development in several ways. I will show you how on the
next slides.
Scuba Diving

4. Meeting new people
I met several new and interesting people
with different backgrounds and
nationalities through scuba diving.
It is also the perfect activity to strengthen
the friendship with some lifelong friends
who share the same hobby. Last year I
met a friend whom I have not seen for
more than a year while scuba diving at
Belize.
After a long day spent in open water it will
be easy for you to enjoy and connect with
the friends you met during the dive. It is
also the perfect opportunity to network.

5. Visit new places
Scuba diving is the perfect
reason to get to know better
several different places and to
experience the local culture.
Scuba diving led me to the
following countries:
• Belize
• South of Mexico
• Sri Lanka
• Indonesia (Bali and Gili)
• Thailand (Kho Phi Phi)
• USA (Florida)
• Brazil (Bonito)
• Argentinean Patagonia

6. Vast amount of nature beneath the sea
Something that always fascinates me
when I scuba dive is the way marine life
behaves around you. They do not seem
to pay attention, which is completely
different from being in a forest where the
animals run away from you. This creates
the perfect opportunity to watch and
observe.
The beauty and the colors under water
are breathtaking and diving on a coral
reef in good condition is an amazing
experience.
Every dive is unique and you never know
what you will see. Even the same dive
spot during different times of day may
have completely different marine life.

7. Underwater mysteries
Being underwater makes you feel an
explorer, going to parts of the planet
where others cannot go.
Many secrets are hidden underwater
such as wrecks, statues and
astonishing formations. At Cancun I
visited MUSA (Underwater Museum of
Art) with more than 500 sculptures
and in Brazil I saw 80m stalagmites at
Bonito.
Last year I did several dives with a
group exploring an artificial lake at the
Argentinean Patagonia. We found
several bicycles and a car lying
underwater among other interesting
artifacts.

8. Protect marine life
Diving on a coral reef under bad
conditions makes you realize the scale
of human impact on the planet. You
will also learn a lot about different
types of marine life and their habits.
Seeing marine creatures such as
turtles and dolphins very close by as
they swim and proceed with their
normal daily tasks is a unique
experience and you will realize it can
never be copied in a show. This
motivates you to do not seek
spectacles where these same animals
are being held captive.

9. Stay fit
Scuba diving is also a great activity to exercise the
body and stay healthy. After a long dive you can
feel the strengthening benefits of a typical workout
such as running or biking but with lower impact
and without the sweating.
When we dive resistance is all around us and we
use all our body, except for the arms. We will
mainly exercise: quads, hamstrings, calves,
ankles, hip flexors, core and shoulders. This is
very similar to aerobic activities done at the gym.
Although intensity is not the same, dives usually
last much longer. A deep dive might last for 30
minutes, while a shallow one might extend for over
an hour.

10. Master non-verbal communication
Since verbal communication
underwater is not possible a
scuba diver will develop non-
verbal communication through
several hand signals and
body language.
There are several standard
signals to be used for
situations, such as: going up,
ok, cold, ear problems and for
marine live.
During night dives
communication is more
complicated and flashlights
must be used.

11. Keep calm and zen out
While scuba diving you transport yourself out of normal life and into a peaceful
and relaxing environment, while exploring things you have never seen before. It is
the perfect opportunity to relax after a stresfull week at work!
In order to make your air last you start paying attention to your breathing pattern
and movements - breathing slowly and moving deliberately. This is very similar to
yoga classes.
Even though you must always scuba dive with a buddy it is an experience that
you enjoy by yourself. When you are there, it is just you and the marine life.
Besides the sound of your own breath it is complete silent bringing absolute
peace and tranquility that you cannot find anywhere else.

12. Thank you!