Semester at Sea Alumni Community

Semester at Sea was absolutely the best experience of my life… It is not a cruise – it’s a voyage! With SAS you will be able to travel the world, meet some of your future best friends, make awesome connections with faculty and staff, and change your world view. … It is a conversation starter and something that will really make you stand out. I cannot say enough great things about SAS and cannot think of a single negative thing to say about it. The only “bad” thing I can think of is that you will fall so in love with SAS that you will do anything to get back on the ship.

Lydia Michailow

On SAS, I had the opportunity to feel a bond and closeness with people with whom I wouldn’t have otherwise had a connection. I learned about their lives, their children’s lives, their daily struggles, their most significant times of joy and began to really care. As I traveled, I became more connected not only to the people I met, but all people everywhere. We are all the same and every human life is important.

[On] Semester at Sea, I got to see 14 different countries in a period of three months. That just added a lot of richness and color and depth to my understanding of my place in the world, and what else was out there.

Jessica Jackley, Co-Founder, Kiva.org

Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm, and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient, Semester at Sea Alumnus and Board of Trustee Emeritus

Semester at Sea changed my life. It was truly an honor to travel the world with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the spring of 2007. He taught me how to look at the world differently. Tutu said to treat everyone you meet like a brother or sister and every child like your own. This advice led me to impact over 10,000 children experiencing homelessness. After SAS I visited Los Angeles and was devastated by the homelessness crisis in Skid Row. I moved to LA to help my brothers, sisters and children. I’m grateful for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his inspiration and the impact that Semester at Sea made on my life.

Wow! 20 years ago I stepped on the Universe Explorer in Vancouver, WA and my world changed forever. On my SAS journey, I experienced many of the global human rights and environmental issues I was intellectually aware of first hand. Supported by an extraordinary faculty and a cohort of dedicated students, my life path changed dramatically. I now design and facilitate international learning programming for young people at Global Routes and Carpe Diem Education with a commitment to pay forward the learning and transformation I experienced at sea.

Adam E Aronovitz, Undergraduate Student alum

It’s been 7 years since my voyage in Fall 2015 and it’s still an experience that I think about every single day. It truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity – one that I continue to treasure each day. Semester at Sea was the most rewarding experience of my entire life and it transformed my perspective of the world. My semester traveling the globe only fueled my love of travel and inspired me to pursue a career as a cruise blogger. The ship became my home, my dreams became a reality and my friends became family.

Allie Hubers, Undergraduate Student alum

The most impactful part of my Semester at Sea experience was definitely the time spent in each port. Meeting people in so many different parts of the world, witnessing their beautiful customs and traditions, and observing, first-hand, the ways in which they lived, created a tangible connection to people and places I had only ever read about prior to my journey. This three-dimensional perspective raised feelings of appreciation, hope and compassion for others, and inspired me to evaluate the effects of my actions on a global scale. Still 25 years later, I think of my Semester at Sea experiences often, recalling sights, sounds, tastes and smells of places and foods very different from the ones I was used to and am forever grateful for the influence it has made on my life.

Tara (Harvist) Longo, Undergraduate Student alum