Two Gatton Academy Class of 2009 Members to Spend Semester at Sea

Eight Western Kentucky University students, including two Gatton Academy Class of 2009 members, will be setting sail Aug. 28 as part of the prestigious Semester at Sea study abroad program.

“Semester at Sea is one of the most unique educational programs in the world,” said Dr. Bernie Strenecky, scholar-in-residence at WKU. He also is the ship’s director of service learning and a member of the Semester at Sea’s alumni board of directors.

This fall, the Semester at Sea program will celebrate its 100th voyage with about 520 students aboard the floating campus. The University of Virginia serves as academic sponsors. Schools such as Pittsburgh, Colorado, Stanford, Virginia and UCLA traditionally send groups of students on the voyages.

“WKU is going to have a presence there and be among the best universities in the world,” Strenecky said.

WKU students making the trip are Carley Brooks, a senior from Louisville; Joey Coe, a junior from Louisville; Lauren Gray, a senior from Franklin, Tenn.; Jennifer Hail, a sophomore from Brandenburg; Kaitlin Hartley, a junior from Versailles; Cameran Smith, a sophomore from Campbellsburg; Caroline Wells, a junior from Glasgow; and Bobbi-Lee Williams, a senior from Portland, Tenn.

The voyage will begin Aug. 28 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and will end Dec. 14 in San Diego. In between, the ship (the MV Explorer) will dock in Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Viet Nam, China, Japan and Hawaii.

“Semester at Sea gives our students an international academic experience that is unique,” said Clay Motley, assistant director of academics for WKU’s Honors College. “We have a lot of cool study abroad experiences, but to do this whole semester on a ship is unique.”

Hartley will take coursework in global studies, zoology, global music and leadership.  Hartley believes this program will be unlike any other opportunity for learning: “This is something unique to put on a resume and say you’ve been part of this program,” Hartley said. “I’m really excited. I think it will be a fun environment to be on ship with all the students.”

Wells will study zoology, global studies, leadership development and history of jazz.  Wells sees a world of possibility ahead in the coming weeks:  “It’s a wonderful opportunity to expand my views on other cultures in the world and to experience things that most people only get to see or hear about on TV or in the media. I can’t wait!”

Established in 1963, Semester at Sea is the only study abroad program of its kind in the world. Using a ship as its traveling campus, students, faculty, and lecturers learn and reside together while fully circumnavigating the globe each fall and spring semester and exploring a world region each summer. More than 2,000 undergraduates representing 200-300 institutions worldwide study abroad with Semester at Sea each year.

Semester at Sea classroom learning is integrated with hands-on fieldwork and service learning in destinations around the world-as many as 12 each semester — where participants gain deeper knowledge of world issues, economies and cultures through comparative experiential study. Participants receive full transferable credit to their home institutions from the University of Virginia, which serves as academic sponsor.

During the voyage, WKU students will be taking classes such as global learning, psychology, zoology, leadership, music, poetry, communication, management, business and service learning.

In the area of service learning, all students will have an opportunity to participate in the $100 Solution, a humanitarian project developed by Dr. Strenecky. Through this project, which is headquartered at WKU, students are provided with knowledge, skills and funds which are used to solve social problems at the national and international levels.

The idea is, Dr. Strenecky said, that many social problems can be solved with $100 not millions of dollars. Last year, for example, a group of students bought a water heater for an orphanage in Vietnam and provided the first hot showers for 45 children there, he said.

Through service learning efforts like the $100 Solution, students learn about the value and importance of giving back to society, Dr. Strenecky said. “We as a university have the responsibility to teach them,” he said.

This fall’s itinerary includes the following locations: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Cadiz, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; Accra, Ghana; Cape Town, South Africa; Port Louis, Mauritius; Chennai, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Hong Kong/Shanghai, China; Yokohama/Osaka, Japan; Honolulu/Hilo, Hawaii; San Diego, Calif.

For more about the Semester at Sea program, visit http://www.semesteratsea.org/ and http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/upcoming-voyages/fall-2009.php

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Jerry Barnaby at (270) 745-2571.

Alumni, Caroline Wells, Honors College, Kaitlin Hartley, Semester at Sea, WKU