AT 13,500 FEET THE DOOR OPENED UP AND EVERYONE STARTED JUMPING OUT.  My heart started pumping harder and faster than ever before. All my nervousness turned into sheer adrenaline. This is the moment I have waited for all these years. The instructors asked me if I was ready. I responded with a "yes," and we walked to the door.

The jump seemed long, even though it was only 60 seconds. At 5,500 feet I waved off and deployed my main canopy. Everything came out as it should, and I was on my own until landing. It was amazing up there, so quiet and peaceful. I followed my landing pattern and landed where I was supposed to safely. The moment my feet touched the ground, I wanted to do it again.

"I became interested in skydiving at the age of 8, when my mom made her first jump," says Matthew Seitz ('06). "I was stuck on the ground while she, my aunt, uncle and grandfather made their first static-line jumps. After seeing the excitement on their faces, I knew I wanted to be a part of the fun. My mom told me that as soon as I turned 18, she would pay for my first skydive."

Kimberly Seitz kept her promise. A week after Matthew turned 18, she took him to his first jump. "I knew I didn't want to make just one jump," says Matt. "I wanted to make skydiving a hobby."

Although Seitz is the only skydiver at JMU, he does his best to promote skydiving as a safe sport that anyone can try. "I have a meeting or two every semester to gauge interest," he says. "I talk about all aspects of the first jump: safety, cost, gear; and I answer any questions," the licensed skydiver adds.

Seitz's first collegiate-level competition was the 2003 U.S. Parachute Association's Collegiate National Parachuting Championships in Lake Wales, Fla. The competition drew 77 students from 17 colleges and universities. Seitz took home third place in the free-flying competition, fourth in the two-way relative work category and fifth in sport accuracy.

Seitz's two-way skydiving partner was George Mason University student Alicia McCraw. "Most students don't have the time or money for this type of competition, so it's hard to find a partner," says Seitz, who led groups of skydivers to Skydive Orange to raise money for the competition. Finishing in the Top 5 in three categories was quite a feat for Seitz, who not only had trouble finding a competition partner, but broke his leg after 20 practice jumps. "I broke both a tibia and fibula in three places and dislocated an ankle on a landing," he explains. "But I found the best orthopedic surgeon in the area, had surgery a week after the accident, was in a cast for five weeks, [completed] physical therapy for two months, and was cleared to jump by my surgeon three days before the nationals."

In August, Seitz became a licensed and certified skydiving coach for the U.S. Parachute Association, and he says that he looks forward to getting paid for doing what he loves. "The best part about skydiving is leaving the plane," he says. "The moment you step out of the door, all your cares leave you, and you focus on that one moment."

-- Cheryl Locke ('05)