John Walker's love of the ocean and scuba diving began during childhood, born by the spark of his imagination. Books including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Moby Dick and television shows like ""Sea Hunt" fueled John's imagination as he explored local creeks and ponds wearing his first set of "scuba gear" fabricated out of milk containers by his mother.

John Walker took his first giant stride into the underwater world in 1976 when he became a certified scuba diver. With every dive John made, he knew that he wanted to share his love of the underwater realm and his appreciation for the sport of scuba diving with others. On the pillars of safety, education, and the excitement of diving, John established the Lancaster Scuba Center in 1993. John has been involved in teaching scuba diving for more than twenty years and has been a PADI Scuba Instructor for more than fifteen years.

John feels privileged to have had a chance to dive the Shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon, assist archaeologists on sunken vessels off New Jersey, swim with reef sharks in the Caribbean, and experience countless other unforgettable underwater activities.

In 2001 I finally got to fulfill one of my goals when I took my first breaths underwater. It was the first time that reality actually transcended my expectations and from that moment on I have been hooked. In 2009 I got my Open Water Instructor certification and my current rating is an IDC Staff Instructor. I love teaching all things scuba but open water will always hold a special place in my heart. The excitement of sharing someone else's first breath underwater is a special event.

Watching and helping transform my students from novices to competent and comfortable divers is a rewarding achievement. I try my best to transfer my excitement and passion for diving to all of my students whether first timers or those transitioning to the professional ranks. I firmly believe that as a diver, no matter what level you are at, there is always something new for you to learn. I try to take something from every dive that I do. As far as my dive experience goes I have dove from Belize to Iceland and just about any kind of environment in between. I am one of those who are just as content in a mud puddle has having 100 feet of visibility, as long as I am underwater.

My goal is to get people looking at all the great diving they have available to them in their back yard. I have dove both coasts and can tell you, you don't need to leave home to find great diving. I run all the Jersey wreck trips and many of the trips to the Carolinas. Wreck diving, artifact hunting, and photography are some of my favorite things to do underwater. For those of you who still sit on the fence thinking that scuba diving is not for you or that you wouldn't be good at it let me just say to you, stop thinking so hard and sign up today. You will not regret that decision as you will be opening up a whole new world to explore. You can thank me later.

Hi everyone, thank you for visiting the LSC Staff webpage.
I’m a New York State native living in the greater York PA area for 32 years now, by way of Denver and Chicago. I can’t say that “I always wanted to scuba dive” but I’ve always been an outdoor guy enjoying a variety of adventures. What this means is that if you too are uncertain if scuba diving is right for you, join me at a Discover Diving through LSC and we’ll explore it together.

PADI Open Water certified in 1998 started my adventure and I couldn’t be happier to have taken this giant stride.
I have terrific memories and tons of pics and video from diving the Caribbean, North Carolina wrecks and sharks and our formerly beloved Bainbridge Scuba Center local dive site.
Divemaster and EFR Instructor followed in 2002/2003 and my PADI Pro path expanded to Open Water Instructor in 2005. Because I enjoy a variety scuba adventures, I earned my PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer cert in 2006, paving the way to teach and deliver 14 specialty certification experiences.

Advanced Open Water is my favorite experience to teach as it is the true gateway to a lifelong scuba adventure. Following that, Underwater Navigation Specialty is a blast to teach because after all, who wants be lost under water?

If you’ve been out of the water for some time, let’s get you into the PADI ReActivate Program to freshen up and get squared away; this is the safest way to reenter the water.

Feel free to call, email, txt and I’ll get you right on your way to greater knowledge and experience to elevate your underwater enjoyment!

When NASA says that you can’t be an astronaut, what’s a gal to do? Become an aquanaut instead!

Fittingly, my passion for the water and all that lives in it has always been strong. One of my earliest memories is of looking at my parents’ 55-gallon saltwater fish tank and thinking, “I want to swim with the fish.” My father, being a Scuba diver himself since 1974, used to let me breathe off his regulator in our backyard pool to see what that was like. I would freedive in the pool, pretending that I was a mermaid or floating around in space. For years, I would go to the beach, don my mask, fins, and snorkel, and watch the sea life below me, letting the waves guide me up and down. As time went on, it wasn’t enough to satisfy me. I wanted to be up close and personal with my gilled buddies.

Finally, in November of 2015, I braved the cold water and got certified as an Open Water Scuba diver. In some respects, I became that mermaid I dreamed I could be as a young girl. I’ve been addicted to it ever since! The feeling of weightlessness, ability to swim side by side with thousands of aquatic creatures, and the myriad friends I met from the sport sustain me. On the day of my wedding, in place of a father-daughter dance, my father and I did two father-daughter dives in Jamaica. We will share those pictures and memories forever.

If you are thinking about making your own underwater memories, come chat with me! I can help you to explore Scuba diving, whether it is something new you are considering or you have had a lifelong dream of getting certified. Come explore this beautiful underwater world with me! You won’t regret it.

It was in 1987 when I first became an Open Water diver. Just three years later, in 1990, I was certified as a Divemaster. It was during the internship of the Divemaster class that I decided to become a PADI Open Water Instructor. I have been a Master Instructor since 1995.

Although I have been diving in a variety of places, I prefer the warm waters of the tropics. I really enjoy teaching others how to scuba dive and taking dive trips to various parts of the world. Now that I’m retired, I hope to be even more active in diving, teaching and traveling.

Growing up on an island, I have always found myself on or in the water. Salt water and sea air has always been a part of my life. Back in the early 80’s I found myself on the island of Bermuda with my new wife. Because we both loved the water we snorkeled virtually every day. The reefs, the coral formations and the aquatic life were absolutely mind blowing. I needed more. Snorkeling was not enough. One thought kept running through my mind: How can I stay underwater longer to gain a true appreciation of all that I am seeing. The answer: SCUBA. Well, that was it. I got open water certified shortly after and by 1987 I was an Assistant Instructor.

To this day, I never stopped learning. There was always another class or something new to experience. Now it’s my turn to give back. As a Master Scuba Diver Trainer, I am in the perfect position to share my love of the underwater world with so many others. To be honest, since I began with scuba, I’ve spent more time training and mentoring other divers than actually diving for my own pleasure. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just love to teach and share my joy of diving to inspire new divers.

I’ve worked with interested people from all walks of life, all ages from 10 to 72, and all levels of confidence. I have been embraced with tears of joy from students who overcame obstacles thought impossible and achieved their open water certification. That’s when you know it is all worth it.

So why not give it a try. You are probably amazed every time you see images from beneath the waves on TV or in the theaters. The sea is calling. Don’t let life pass you by without experiencing this breathtaking world firsthand. Join our family of divers and experience it for yourself. It’s a feeling you’ll never forget!

While looking for new adventures after graduating from my California high school, I became a certified diver in 1971. All of my diving at that time was done in Monterey Bay. I moved east and became a Divemaster at Lancaster Scuba Center in 2001. I received my Open Water Scuba Instructor certification at ProDive in Florida in 2004, and am currently an IDC Staff Instructor. I am also a DAN Instructor, an Emergency First Response Provider Instructor, and an EFR Instructor Trainer.

My favorite classes to teach are Rescue Diver, Divemaster, and any of the specialty courses. I enjoy diving anywhere in the Caribbean, especially Grand Cayman. My favorite local place to dive is Dutch Springs, where I also work as lake lookout and safety staff.

Mark was captured by scuba through re-runs of Jacques Cousteau and Sea Hunt. While on job sites in various part of the country, he participated in many Discover Scuba Diving sessions (leading those for new divers is one of the favorite sessions he teaches). On an anniversary trip, he convinced his wife to try diving in Saint Thomas, both of them getting certified upon their return to the states. They are now a team. Lisa is a Divemaster and also teaches the Emergency First Response courses (Both of them greatly enjoy teaching the CP and First Aid courses because they can be literal life savers).

Since joining when moving into the area in late 2015, Mark has brought a couple of new specialties to Lancaster Scuba Center such as Fish Identification and Divers Against Debris. He has qualified as a PADI Elite Instructor.

Their favorite place to dive locally is Dutch Springs, where he & Lisa can be found most Summer weekends when not doing confined water lessons in one of the pools. Favorite distance locations are Roatan Island off Honduras and Florida’s Upper Key (“They take American money, speak American, and you don’t need a passport”).

In addition to the ‘normal’ certifications, Mark enjoys putting an environmental focus on diving through training people through the ‘Divers Against Debris’ Specialty. He also teaches divers how to gather data on biomass and ocean health in the joint Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) – Project Aware Fish Identification Specialty and the combined Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) – Project Aware Coral Conservation Specialty. He calls those as “Diving with a Purpose”