Yesterday afternoon, just over five hundred parents of Semester at Sea’s Spring 2009 Voyagers were welcomed aboard the MV Explorer for a reception. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by faculty and staff and were given tours of the ship. The general reaction that we received was WOW and it was pretty clear that most parents walked away a little jealous that they would not be joining the voyage themselves. (See for yourself right here! http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/overview/)Parents were then invited into the Union to attend a brief program that featured remarks from Les McCabe, the President of the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) as well as this semester’s Executive Dean (http://www.semesteratsea.org/about-us/presidents-welcome/dr.-mccabe-s-bio.php) and Jeremy Kingston, the MV Explorer’s Master Captain (http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/ship-management/officers-crew.php#Kingston).
McCabe expounded upon Semester at Sea’s mission of educating individuals for leadership, service, and success in shaping our interdependent world and talked to parents about the dedication of ISE to its core principles, focusing specifically on health and safety, which is the top priority for all programs. (See all of them here: http://www.semesteratsea.org/about-us/presidents-welcome/mission-and-core-values.php)
Afterwards, I spoke with one parent who remarked that, “A half hour ago, I was very apprehensive, as I can understand how any parent would be, but after listening to the presentation, I have been completely put at ease.” Every other family member that I talked to following the reception shared those exact feelings.
Photo by SAS Photographer John Weakley
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