Greeley Welder Is Only Woman in Elite Seattle Diving Program
Rylen Rae Enriquez, a 2025 graduate of Aims Community College's welding program, is the only woman among 32 students at the Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle, where she began commercial diving classes in October 2025. Her path from the Greeley area to deep-water work reveals the persistence of male dominance in elite, dangerous underwater jobs.
"Underwater welders make a lot of money," Enriquez said. The danger and adrenaline rush sealed her decision. That combination—money and adrenaline—drove her to pursue commercial diving after graduating in 2025, according to Aims Community College.
Her training at the Divers Institute is intensive. Days begin at 5:30 a.m. She completes four to five dive rotations daily. Topside, she manages dive charts, communications, and tends divers entering and exiting the water.
Her coursework covers underwater physics and medical safety, including emergency air procedures. She's drilled switching to backup bottles and using the helmet shell to breathe during system failure. She's also mastering how to move heavy objects, tie precise knots, and operate efficiently underwater.
Selected as the first standby diver in her cohort—the role responsible for assisting a diver in distress—she also creates daily dive bills and helps instructors manage operations. She received an American Welding Society Scholarship with support from Aims faculty member Graham Bylsma.
Women remain a tiny fraction of the commercial diving workforce. Nationally, women are only 3.3 percent of commercial divers and 6.1 percent of welders, according to Zippia. Training data underscore the disparity. In 2023, women earned just 6.06 percent of degrees at Commercial Diving Technologies Institute and 2.47 percent at Commercial Divers International, according to Data USA. Even globally, Australia's Diver Accreditation Scheme found women comprised just 4.94 percent of certified occupational divers in 2017.
Enriquez graduates May 27, 2026, then begins her search for a commercial diving position—and her first step into a field where few women have gone before.