Anesti Vega finds peace when he’s breathing with the fish. The combat veteran, researcher, scuba diving instructor and interdisciplinary science student at Florida Tech sought relief from his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for years. After finding it in the meditative nature of diving, he’s on a mission to protect that sacred marine environment.
Vega shared his passion and his story in a 2024 episode of The Everglades Foundation’s video series, “Everglades Stories from Across the Watershed.” That episode helped propel the series to an Emmy Award in the Public Affairs Program category at the 48th Annual Suncoast Regional Emmy Awards last winter.
His first exposure to scuba was born from the desire to swim with sharks – the next endeavor in a series of high-adrenaline adventures after leaving the U.S. Army. While earning his dive certification, however, an overwhelming sense of calm overshadowed the adrenaline rush.
Scuba emphasizes slow, controlled breathing, which helps divers maintain their buoyancy within the water column and adapt to pressure changes. Vega said the active focus on his breath is meditative; it eased the racing-mind symptoms of his PTSD by narrowing hundreds of thoughts to just one.
“I felt present for the first time in a long time, right there in the water,” Vega recalled. “That moment was a turning point in my life.”
His newfound peace and gratitude for the ocean pushed him to pursue a path of educating others about conservation. His involvement in marine education eventually led him to work with The Everglades Foundation.
Vega was invited to participate in the video series after speaking at the foundation’s annual conference. His experience as a scuba instructor and a scientist enabled him to give a unique perspective on the connections between our local waterways, our oceans and the Everglades.
“It’s important to have content that provokes thought about the Earth as a system. All these parts are connected to each other,” Vega said. “If you care about the ocean, then you should also care about the Everglades and vice versa.”
For Vega, the video shoot was priceless. Not only did he get to share his story with the world, but his family spent the day with him on location, too. If viewers look closely, in some scenes, they’ll see silhouettes of people enjoying the beach in the background. Those were his family members, he said.
“They just decided to go out to the beach and make a day of it,” Vega recalled. “It’s really cool that even though it’s focused on me in the foreground, I know those little silhouettes of people are my family members, my wife and my three children.”
This experience was just one of many educational opportunities Vega expects to take on. He founded Florida Tech’s Scuba Club and regularly teaches his divers about conservation. He believes he’s found his true calling as a science educator, and he’s thrilled at the opportunity to teach others how they can help protect the ocean.
“[Conservation] is one of those things that people think is a good idea in theory, but many people don’t know what it actually looks like, and what can be done on a daily basis,” Vega said. “It’s important to talk about conservation on every platform.”
Vega’s episode of the Emmy-winning series is available on YouTube.
