Semester at Sea

“South Africa is a beautiful land.  It can become a paradise for all of us.  Please come to South Africa.” -  Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressing the shipboard community. As he prepares to leave the ship in Cape Town after spending 11 weeks sailing aboard the Spring 2013 Voyage, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu took the time to talk about his home country of South Africa.  In this audio recording of that eloquent presentation, the Archbishop recounts what it was...

Abby Aronson is a Consul of the United States of America as the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai who sailed as an Interport Diplomat on the leg between Burma and India, participating in classes, and talking to students about India, the foreign service, and many other topics.  This was not her first time sailing with Semester at Sea; Abby first sailed as a student in 1990.  Her experiences on the ship inspired her subsequent career in the foreign service. In this audio interview, Abby explain...

When he’s not sailing on Semester at Sea, Dean of Student Life Craig Hauser is the Director of Student Services at the American University of Antigua in New York.  In this audio interview, Craig describes the differences of living on a floating campus versus your typical land campus, as well as how he changes as a person every time he sails with Semester at Sea.

Students in the Global Management Lens course taught by Professor John Girard of Minot State University had the opportunity to hear from a very special guest speaker recently.

When Dr. Sharon Hostler is not the Academic Dean aboard the Spring 2013 Semester at Sea Voyage, she is a world-renown Pediatrician In this audio interview, Sharon shares how she picked the voyage’s faculty over the course of two years, and her thoughts on the ship as an Academical Village, the benefits of a world perspective for students pursuing a career in medicine, and her hopes for everyone embarking on this voyage.

In his first voyage as Executive Dean, Dr. Tom Jelke shares with us the unique qualities that make him come back to the ship for his sixth Semester at Sea voyage.  Tom is sailing with his wife Rebecca, and sons Parker (a 4-year-old in his second voyage) and 21-month-old Julian, and hopes the experience is truly life-changing for everyone on this journey. In addition to being an avid traveler who is passionate about the Semester at Sea program, Tom is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a compe...

The U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, Jr., arrived yesterday on the MV Explorer to help bring the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil to the forefront of academia. With only two days on board as the MV Explorer sails to Manaus, Ambassador Shannon and members of his staff are immersing themselves in a variety of classes to help students best understand the changing role of Brazil throughout the world. Ambassador Shannon began by presenting in Global Studies, speaking about B...

In honor of International Education Week (November 12-16), Semester at Sea sponsored an academic panel discussion on the topic of global comparative education at the University of Virginia (U.Va.). Robert Waters, vice president of academic affairs, will moderated the discussion among panelists Jeff Legro, U.Va. vice provost of global affairs; 

The political atmosphere throughout the Middle East has reached a critical point, but the events that have lead us to where we are today began many months ago, in a time often referred to as the “Arab Spring.” In this interesting and introspective podcast, Semester at Sea students discuss the events of the Arab Spring, a timely discussion concerning the protests currently happening in the Middle East and North Africa. Listen as students share their personal stories, reactions and thoughts ...

Scott Seamans, the co-founder and designer of Crocs, is also a Semester at Sea alum. From his first time on Semester at Sea as a student at the University of Colorado, to his involvement with Semester at Sea today, Scott shares with us the lessons he has learned along the way. How has his time on board affected his professional life? What lessons has he learned through Semester at Sea and what adv...