Semester at Sea offers unique international experience

Students visited 13 locations this past semester.

By Maggie Niemiec

Published May 4, 2009

While other students were walking to class in Columbia, one was climbing the Great Wall of China.

Junior Laura Mizes, 21, is one of about 700 students in the Semester at Sea program. The strategic communications major has been taking classes aboard the MV Explorer since Jan. 19. After almost four months at sea, this modern passenger ship will make port May 6 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"I have been on a safari, hiked through the jungles of Tikal, Guatemala and found ancient Mayan ruins," Mizes said.

In the past few months, Mizes visited the Bahamas, Spain, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii and Guatemala.

Keeping in contact with landlocked friends and family has been difficult, as students on the ship can only communicate via email.

"I have probably been on Facebook seven times over the past four months," Mizes said.

Students applying to the program must have a 2.75 cumulative GPA and be in good academic standing. They also submit an essay.

Those accepted into the Semester at Sea program choose to study for an entire semester or just the summer. Teachers from all over the world instruct courses onboard the ship. The program is open to college students from all majors, and no foreign language knowledge is required.

The University of Virginia sponsors the program. Semester at Sea spokeswoman Laura Heinz said students receive college credit from the University of Virginia -- approved courses that are later transferred to the student's university.

In addition to a full class load, students partake in fieldwork, or Faculty-Directed Practica, each time the ship ports.

"This could be anything from a service project to a trip designed by a professor to supplement his or her class to a home stay with a local family," Spring 2009 Voyage spokesman Mark Lazaroff said.

Heinz said students might learn about Roman architecture in their classroom and then the next day witness it with their own eyes.

Lazaroff said he shares this sentiment.

"Semester at Sea offers its students the unrivaled opportunity to gain a perspective on the world that cannot be found in any other study abroad program," he said.

The ship itself is a floating college campus. Mizes lives in a dorm with one roommate. She can eat in the dining hall, study in the library or work out in the recreation center.

Mizes said hanging out in the ship's union can't compare with the times she has spent interacting with other cultures.

"Even a talk with a Tuk Tuk driver in India can make an experience so much more interesting," Mizes said. "People around the world have such unique perspectives on the rest of the world and their own societies. Being able to communicate with them and learn more about their lives is a really remarkable experience."

Mizes volunteered for a non-profit organization in South Africa where she spent a day evaluating the health of children. She said one little girl was scared at first, but made it through her checkup by holding Mizes's hand.

"The most amazing part of this experience is that she and I bonded over drawing circles in the sand and giving each other high fives," Mizes said. "We did not communicate one word to each other and were able to spend the entire day together playing and having fun."

This fall, Semester at Sea will embark on its 100th voyage. Heinz said past participants carry their experiences with them throughout their lives.

"Students end up doing international work because of the Semester at Sea," she said. "It's not just one semester that they did back in college."

Mizes said she's no exception.

"I really want to work for a non-profit abroad," Mizes said. "Ideally, I would love to help coordinate advertising and use my organizational skills to help with advertising for fundraising and volunteer efforts in Africa."