Cast

Paul Stuart Wichansky
HSA Scuba Student
 Paul Stuart Wichansky is a meteorologist and Ph.D candidate at Rutgers University. Born with ataxic cerebral palsy, he has devoted his time to educating children, parents, and teachers about the perspectives and realities of growing up with his physical challenge. By sharing personal experiences with humor, while encouraging others to ask questions that can help positively shape their understanding of people with disabilities, Paul tries to instill the hope, energy, and inspiration that motivates them to realize their own dreams. Paul has been a motivational speaker since he was ten years old. He also participates in web design, painting, and skydiving.Two of his former audience members, Jon-Luc and Johnny, are not only his scuba diving buddies as part of the HSA film documentary, but also inspirational role models to him. For more information about Paul, visit his web site at: www.justthewayyouare.com

Jon -Luc Lecamp
HSA Scuba Student
 Jon -Luc Lecamp, age 10, was born on January 12, 1993, 14 weeks premature. He weighed just over 2 pounds at birth and spent the next three months in newborn intensive care unit at Yale University Hospital where he received round-the-clock care. Luckily, his strong will to survive got him through the first of many challenges. As with many premature infants, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of 10 months. His doctors were not sure if Jon-Luc would ever walk independently but by the age of 7, Jon-Luc was walking on his own. He is a bright, funny, sociable kid who loves to play video games and legos and is involved in karate, boy scouts, horseback riding and now scuba diving. HSA has opened up a brand new world for Jon-Luc,one which none of his friends have ventured into yet.

John Gardner
HSA Scuba Student
 John Gardner is eleven years old. He was diagnosed with asthma when he was about 3, but he was able to particate in sports and activities with preventive medication and some modification of the way he worked out. He first started with gymnastics for about 2 years, then moved onto soccer and baseball for 3 years. At 6 he started wrestling and it became his passion. He has been wrestling for 5 years. Last year he took fifth place in the NJ States and 2nd in the Southern Regionals (4 States) and made it into the top 15 of the Eastern Nationals. This year he ended his season with 60 wins and 10 losses, placed 6th in NJ and 4th in South Jersey States and 6th place in the World Championships in Reno Nevada. He is also an avid skateboarder and snow boarder. He jumped at the chance to scuba dive!

Crew

Jeffrey Boyd Salgo

President
and
Executive Producer
Aqua Rock Productions

Jeffrey Boyd Salgo has over 28 years of Network Broadcast experience as an Associate Director with CBS News and CBS Entertainment.

Jeffrey holds a B.A. in Theatre , A Masters in Set and Lighting Design and Educational Theatre.

His broadcast credits include Network Television-CBS and NBC.

He has worked on a number of projects: Halting a Coral Catastrophe for The Nature Conservancy A promotional video for the Peter Hughes Diving company in Papua New Guinea and a Scuba Week "Welcome" video for Club Med.

He has been published in Skin Diver Magazine. Jeffrey has over 18 years of diving experience.

Stewart Snyder III
HSA Course Director-09
PADI Master Instructor

 Stewart W. Snyder III is a P.A.D.I. Master Instructor, and H.S.A. Course Director. He started working with handicapped individuals over twenty-five years ago. Over the years he has belonged to many service organizations such as the US Jaycees, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Multiple Sclerosis Association, and the Heart Fund, he has been a volunteer at the NJ State Aquarium for ten years as a diver and now volunteers in the education department. He has been in the water with over a thousand handicapped individuals, and looks forward to working with the next thousand.

Peter Boyko II
 HSA Dive Buddy
PADI Rescue Diver

 Peter Boyko II is a P.A.D.I. Rescue Diver, currently pursuing PADI Divemaster Certification. Pete Boyko II has worked with HSA and Stew since his open water certification. He currently holds an H.S.A. Dive Buddy certification. He started working with handicapped individuals when he helped Stew develop his website, and has found great pride and joy in helping handicapped individuals break free from there disabilities. While researching and retrieving material for the HSA NJ Scuba Website, Pete worked with and interacted with Joe Hughes, A young man who had Lou Gehrig's Disease and has since passed away but touched Pete in a special way and Pete has been dedicated to the HSA cause ever since.


Raymond Ruffini
HSA Dive Buddy
PADI Advanced
Open Water

 Ray Ruffini is married with 3 children. He has worked as a supervisor with a manufacturing company for over 22 years training people to run machines. He is a member of the BPOE in Point Pleasant. "I met Stew while going for my first PADI certification and he introduced me to HSA. I thoroughly enjoy scuba diving and am looking forward to continuing my training and education to further advance my certification level with both PADI and HSA."

Helen Mulford

HSA Instructor
PADI Instructor

 Helen Mulford was born and raised in South Africa, now resides in Delaware, USA, with her family. She is a Registered Nurse working at Alfred I du Pont Children's' Hospital in the Operating Room. Her first experience of diving was a Resort course on an island off Mozambique in the early 90's. While working as a nurse in Saudi Arabia from1995 to 1998, She learned to dive and became an Instructor diving in the Red Sea. Of the many things she's done with diving, she's always wanted to share the wonders of the under water world with handicapped people. After making contact with HSA at the Beneath the Sea Diving show earlier this year, the wheels were set in motion for her dream to come true. Helen attended an instructor training class with Stew Snyder in July 2003. It was her first experience with handicapped divers. " This was a wonderful experience, to see the huge smile on a persons face when they surface after doing something new , it is the most amazing feeling to know that I've been able to participate in creating that smile! " Helen and her husband currently teach through a local dive store in Media P.A. (Ultimate Scuba Adventures)

 

If you would like to participate as a sponsor in "Breaking Free", Please feel free to email me at: Stew@hsanjscuba.com