Every living learning coordinator (LLC), the equivalent of a resident advisor, also has a collateral assignment. One of those LLCs is Brad Miller, who is responsible for academic support programs aboard the MV Explorer. “I try to bridge the chasm between academic life and residential life and serve as liaison between faculty and students,” Brad told me.
This is the second year in Semester at Sea’s history that this position has been in place, and it has really made an impact on the students. Brad has years of experience in education and has used that experience to design an innovative program that brings together the academic needs of students, their extracurricular interests, and shipboard life.
He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University where he majored in Latin. Following college, Brad taught Latin at a boarding school while he ran one of their dorms. He then spent a year at the University of Florida where he earned a master’s degree in Latin and worked for the football team in their Quality Control department. He then moved on to Stanford, where he received a master’s degree in education and worked as an assistant football coach. After some time teaching in California, Brad then moved to Florence, Italy where he most recently was the Academic Supervisor of an international school.
To make sure he knows what the students are going through, Brad regularly attends classes and meets with professors, the academic dean, and our registrar. “It’s great to be back in the classroom again after some time as an administrator and experience just a small piece of what our students get, “ he said. Brad told me that his goal has been to setup a “scaffolding of academic support,” that can adjust to fluctuations in the academic workload.
The programming that the academic team has provided has really done just that. They started off during our first week at sea with a strong presence at the student activities fair. Right then, Brad was able to identify students with unique skills and those who were enthusiastic to help provide assistance during the semester. A popular student interest in creating “language tables” during meals (interested voyagers would sit together and study a language through conversation) also led to the start of a number of language tables including three in Spanish, one in French, and one in Japanese.
As classes began, the emphasis shifted to assisting students succeed in such a unique environment. The greatest challenge to students, Brad explained, is the irregular calendar, caused by the interruptions due to our field excursions. The challenges though, Brad said, “forceseveryone to rediscover their best ways of learning.” To address this issue, a panel composed of faculty, staff, and lifelong learners spoke to students about the study aids that worked for them when they were in school and provided them with other tips to have a successful academic voyage.
As the semester went on, the academic team was there to meet any needs the students may have had. Faculty would refer students to Brad that they felt might be falling behind and Brad also looked out for students that he thought might need a little extra help. A number of students have
also been very proactive and sought out assistance when they felt they were having difficulties. In all of these instances, the academic team worked with students to pair them up with stronger people in their classes who might be able to help them with notes or tutoring or help them devise study plans. Brad also pointed out the many faculty who “embrace the 24/7 aspect of shipboard life,” that allows them to interact and assist students on an informal basis. The academic team also started a writing center where students could have their papers reviewed by student volunteers.Additionally, a Graduate School Night and a Career Night were held in response to student interest. Both drew large numbers of voyagers. For the graduate school session, students attended a dinner and sat with faculty, staff, and lifelong learners who had been through the graduate school application process, and in some cases taught in the relevant fields, so that they could gain some insight into the application process and learn more about specific programs. For Career Night, students had the option of attending different sessions throughout the ship to learn about internship possibilities, what classes might help them in a chosen profession, and get more information on potential paths to their dream jobs. There was really something for everyone, with offerings from medicine, to communications, to politics and much in between.
The students themselves started a number of initiatives though. One of the best examples of this is the Port Research Operations (PRO) Society, which took off after a group of students expressed interest in learning about the current events of South Africa as we approached Cape Town. Over the past few months, interest has spread and the group now meets in preparation of every port and presents on the current news of our next destination to the entire shipboard community during global studies. The group also maintains a facebook group called “PRO Society – Semester at Sea Spring 2009” if you would like to see what they have been up to. The students are planning to continue their research after the voyage is over so that they can keep up to date on the places we have visited.
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