MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A woman who spent her teenage years at Memphis city pools is making a big splash in the scuba diving world. Corhonda Dawson has been scuba diving for over a decade, and her underwater explorations have taken her around the globe. The divemaster celebrated her 51st birthday i n Dubai, diving in the world's deepest swimming pool. Deep dive in Dubai. Courtesy: Corhonda Dawson Descending 200 feet below the surface may seem intimidating to many, but the occupational therapist and Memphis mom said it is how she recharges. “There are no voices saying Hey, I need this or I need that. Give me the give me that. All you’re doing is flying nice and slow, listen to your heart rate, keenly aware of your breath,” Dawson said. Dawson is a member of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers, and according to the group, Dawson is the first African American woman to scuba dive in all seven continents. Courtesy: Corhonda Dawson She accomplished the feat in five months and 22 days. “For me, I just wanted to represent African-American females in a new narrative for us to be seen as adventurers because oftentimes there are just other people that are there in that same space," said Dawson. It took a divorce for Dawson to discover her adventurous side. She also took up snowboarding and got her two daughters involved in the sports. “I would drag the girls every single spring break," said Dawson. "Just getting the girls out there in the ocean and on the mountain. It’s just those incremental successes where they said you know, I can do this and did it.” Growing up in Whitehaven, Dawson never had access to an ocean, just the Memphis pools. "It all began way back as a lifeguard at the fairground pool," she said. Courtesy: Corhonda Dawson Dawson aims to break more records in the future. She hopes to expose more people to the world's oceans and show them what's possible. "Being the first African-American female, all those things are tools to change minds because at the end of the day, you know what it’s about is I’m trying to change someone’s mind because just because you’ve been exposed doesn’t mean you can’t do,” said Dawson. This week, Dawson travels to Antarctica to begin another seven-continent dive. This time it will be documented by the adventure travel group Aurora Expeditions. ...read more read less