An endless ocean. Pure earth beneath. Nothing but a sky of water above. Sunlight barely pierces through the water’s depth.

Then the shark appeared. Breathtaking. Ominous yet silent, drifting past like a storm cloud. 15 feet long. Just out of arm’s reach. The regal king of the sea. The diver looked into the eyes of death, frozen with awe of the beast. Only after it drifted away did this brush with death seem the most horrifying.

Not the average experience for a normal choir teacher, but Jodi Reed is no such teacher. After 32 years of Mr. Koliha leading the choir department, Mrs. Reed has quite a legacy to live up to.

So far this year she has started a new A Cappella, has held a Cabaret Show fundraiser for new risers, hosted two highly successful school concerts, and taken multiple choirs to state and nationwide competitions.

Despite building such a strong bond so quickly with the Monte Vista student body, many people are still hoping to find out much more about her. What does she like to when she’s not teaching?

“Well, a while back I became a certified scuba diver in Monterey,” Reed said. “I love the water; I love the ocean. I feel sometimes like I’m one with the ocean.”

Underneath the water, she feels more free than she ever has before. She describes the feeling as peaceful and serene.

“I really could dive with nothing around me and just the feeling of the water alone makes me feel like I’m home.”

Reed has been all around the world diving; Cozumel (her favorite dive), Turks, Caicos, Utah, Saint George, Hawaii, Florida; and has great plans for the future.

“I’m going to the Grand Cayman during the summer and really looking forward to that,” she said. “I also want to go diving in Honduras because I’m told that the diving there is unimaginable.”

On her many trips, Reed has gone through many life changing experiences such as watching sharks up close and traveling an expanse of five miles of currents in only an hour!

“There was this one time I almost died in Monterey,” she said. “The visibility of the water was really, really bad;  if my instructor moved two feet in front of me, he would disappear. And there was seaweed everywhere, and I was getting tangled. It was terrifying. So did I actually almost die? No. Did it feel like I was? Yes!”

Mrs. Reed is so passionate about scuba diving that she suggests everyone try it.

“It really is like no other feeling in the world,” Reed said. “Everybody needs to try it, diving is so amazing. At times when I’m down there, it even feels like I’m part mermaid!”