Life Worth Leading

10/04/2026

Congratulations to Leandro Urrusty for earning his prestigious DIVEMASTER certification with Dr. Gabrielle K Gabrielli, Life Worth Leading, and Scuba Educators International!

Originally from Treinta y Tres, Uruguay, Leandro currently lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where he works as a business analyst. He has an advanced undergraduate-level education in Systems Analysis in Information Technology from Universidad ORT in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Leandro discovered SCUBA diving about ten years ago, fascinated by the opportunity to explore an entirely different world beneath the surface. After taking a six-year break from diving, he returned to the sport through Life Worth Leading’s Tallahassee SCUBA program, completing a refresher course in 2025. Since then, he has continued to grow as a diver and has completed approximately 80 dives.

His passion for diving extends beyond his own experience. After some persistent encouragement, he convinced his wife, Damaris, to give SCUBA certification a try, despite her initial skepticism about the sport. What started with a little hesitation has since turned into a shared passion, and Damaris is now just as hooked on diving as he is.

For Leandro, one of the most rewarding aspects of diving is the sense of peace that comes from being underwater and temporarily leaving everyday life behind. He especially enjoys sharing that experience with others and helping new students develop their skills and confidence.

As a leader with Life Worth Leading, Leandro assists with teaching academics, pool sessions, and open water dives through the organization’s Tallahassee SCUBA program. He also volunteers at many events with the nonprofit organization including Rotary Youth Camp for kids with disabilities and with underwater cleanups. In addition, Leandro transformed the lifeworthleading.org and tallahasseescuba.com websites and developed an impressive new database system for registrations and classes.

Leandro's passion for teaching comes from remembering what it was like to be a new diver himself and understanding that learning does not always go perfectly the first time. He enjoys helping students work through those challenges, gain confidence, and discover the same excitement he found in the underwater world.

We are so thankful to have Leandro as such an important part of our Life Worth Leading leadership team. Congratulations, divemaster Leandro!

10/01/2026

We love seeing our Life Worth Leading leaders doing great things in their communities! Here is Scuba Educators International instructor Victor Blanco, head of University of Florida UF IFAS Taylor County Extension Office’s Taylor County Reef Research Team doing post-season scallop surveys with Taylor County Sheriffs Office. Also featured is Life Worth Leading and SEI instructor Scott Clements assisting with the survey.

Thank you, WCTV.tv!

09/19/2026

09/19/2026

A HUGE thank you to all the amazing Life Worth Leading volunteers who helped clean in and around Cherokee Sink today! We collected at least 30 pounds of garbage and recycling, plus we found 3 watches (Leandro Urrusty found 2 Apple watches, and Gabrielle is working to find their owners. Five SCUBA divers worked in the water, and 10 others cleaned on land. We love doing the coastal clean up, and we love partnering with Keep Wakulla County Beautiful, SCUBA Friends, and Wakulla Springs State Park!

08/29/2026

Congratulations to William Turner for earning his assistant instructor certification with Dr. Gabrielle K Gabrielli, Life Worth Leading, and Scuba Educators International!

Bill is also a board member with Life Worth Leading. He earned his divemaster certification in 2025 and his assistant instructor certification in 2026. He is now working to complete his instructor certification. He is originally from Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering technology from Devry. Bill has a stick-with-it mentality as evidenced by decades of his career working for General Electric Healthcare, decades of SCUBA diving, and decades of marriage to his wonderful wife Aleksandra who is from Poland. His persistence carries over to the sport of SCUBA diving where Bill loves working with new students who may struggle with anxiety in completing their skills.

The team affectionately calls Bill an “emotional support diver” because he is so great at helping people overcome their fears and succeed at the sport. He is also HSA certified to work with divers with disabilities, and he enjoys volunteering at the many events we have. Bill is also a Life Worth Leading Richard Gabrielle scholarship recipient.

07/26/2026

07/26/2026

This post includes some of our volunteers getting to experience SCUBA diving. The previous post has campers enjoying the experience.