The Foreign Service Journal, October 2011

64 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / OC T OB E R 2 0 1 1 T he Institute for Shipboard Educa- tion’s program, Semester at Sea — formerly known as the World Campus Afloat and, even earlier, theUni- versity of the Seven Seas—has been pro- viding a shipboard college experience since 1963. Each semester up to 750 students from theU.S. andaround theworld travel aboard a 590-foot vessel, M.V. Explorer , their float- ing campus. The rigorous academic pro- gram, sponsored by the University of Virginia, includes in-port fieldassignments. Lifelong learners, many of whom audit courses, are alsopart of the shipboardpop- ulation. Between semesters, the program offers enrichment voyages, which can last up to21days, areopen toall ages and focus on specific geographic areas. Inaddition toU. Va.’s high-caliber pro- fessors, theacademicprogrambenefits from attracting lecturers who are world leaders in their fields. Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has sailed on a number of voyages, giving students an unprecedented opportunity to under- standnot only the nature of apartheid, but the importance of forgiveness and peace. Fellow Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela andMotherTeresahavemetwithSAS stu- dents. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the noted British science fiction writer, once played host to SAS students at his home in Sri Lanka. The list is long, and includes themanyFor- eign Service employees whohave given in-port lectures on host-coun- try politics, environ- ment, economics, his- tory and development, among other topics. Spending 100 days ormore navigating the globe, experiencing foreigncultures, seeing the sights and meeting people, while immersed ina courseof study geared to the ports of call, is the first overseas experience for many of the students. It is no wonder thatmany Semester at Sea alums proclaim that their voyagewas a “life-changing expe- rience.” Nor is it surprising that many of them turn to public service as a way to help change the lives of others, asmy interviews with several SAS alums attest. Foreign Service Officer Foreign Service officer and AFSA member Kelly Adams-Smith fully agrees. Kellyhails froma small, rural town inNew Jersey. During her freshman year at American University, Kelly sawaposter about Semester at Sea and was instantly hooked. At the time, neither Kelly, nor anyone inher immediate family, had ever been abroad. For Kelly, that changed at the beginning of her sophomore year when she spent the fall of 1988 participating on Semester at Sea. “My semester on the shipwaswhat led me toa career in theForeignService,”Kelly declares. When the ship docks, it is frequently met by local authorities, nearby college stu- dents, national press and even dance troupes andmusicians. Luckily for Kelly, when the shipdocked inOdessa, Ukraine, shemet upwith local college studentswho had gathered dockside. “There I was, in what was then known as ‘the evil empire,’ strikingupa conversationwithstudentsmy age. Incredibly, the conversation lasted five days, turning into an impromptu home- stay with one of their families.” This serendipitous meeting inspired Kelly tomajor in international studies; earn a graduate degree in Russian studies at HarvardUniversity; work as a Presidential Management Fellow focused on Russian energy issues at the Department of Commerce; and, ultimately, become a Foreign Service officer and part of a tan- dem couple, with postings to Moscow, Estonia and Bulgaria. In the summer of 2009, while serving in Bulgaria, Kelly was reunited with SAS. She jumpedat the chance togive an in-port diplomatic briefing to Semester at Sea stu- dents. “I was absolutelymobbed after the A F S A N E W S Archbishop Desmond Tutu with SAS students in Ghana, 2010. The M.V. Explorer floating campus. Semester at Sea: Changing Lives One Student at a Time BY DONNA AYERST ISE/SAS ISE/SAS