Video from the Activities Fair

I'm going to try and update you all with videos whenever possible. It can be tough sometimes from the ship but we'll do our best. Enjoy this clip!




Created by SAS Staff Video Producer, Jerry Pratt

What a night

The Semester at Sea community had quite a busy evening. For me, it started at 5:30 with a Shabbat dinner that drew over thirty students and faculty. By 7:00, it was time to run to the swing dance class being held in the Union. The tone of the evening then turned a bit more serious with this evening’s Explorer’s Seminar (a nightly class/lecture/discussion on various topics led by members of the shipboard community), which focused on the progress of the American civil rights movement from Martin Luther King, Jr. to the election of President Obama.

Last, but definitely not least, was our first Open Mic night. It was standing room only in the
400+ seat Union, where it looked like just about everyone turned out to watch their fellow Voyagers. The talent literally blew me away. Performances ranged from Jonathan Katz on the melodica (if like me, you have never heard of that instrument before, check it out here) to Ashley Perez on guitar, who played a piece entitled “When It’s Cold in California,” that she had written for a friend in school. There was complete silence as Meghan Butcher played the piano and sang, beautifully if I may add, as the audience was rocked by the gentle waves beneath us.We also had vocalists and dancers and the genres varied all the way from classical to rock. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the extraordinary talent that this student body has to offer over the next few months.



Photos #2 and 3 by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Medical Facilities Aboard the MV Explorer

The health and wellness of the Voyagers aboard the MV Explorer is a top priority for Semester at Sea and the Institute for Shipboard Education. The ship is equipped with an advanced medical facility and is staffed with two medical teams. A doctor and nurse, as part of the crew of the MV Explorer, primarily provide care to their fellow crew-members, while another doctor and nurse, as well as a physician’s assistant look after the Voyagers aboard the ship.

The medical facilities have just about everything you would find in a typical emergency room and the staff is prepared to treat everything from seasickness, to a broken limb, to cardiac arrest. The facilities include an examination room, an intensive care room, and an operating room for more advanced procedures. There is also an x-ray machine and a lab where medical staff can run blood-work and perform other tests.

John Lewis, this semester’s physician’s assistant has ten years experience in emergency medicine. He has owned and operated an urgent care clinic in Montana and worked in a metropolitan emergency room and he currently he holds a full time position in Internal Medicine with Dr. Jack K. Lewis M.D., P.C.-Internal Medicine, as well as a part-time position in a Hispanic family practice. He says that the staff here generally sees about 20 visitors a day (mostly for seasickness at this early point in the voyage) but that will typically drop off to about 3-5 people once everyone acquires their “sea legs.”

The physician for this voyage, Ann McKee, MD graduated from the University of Washington with a BS in cell biology in 1977 and a medical degree 1981 and her family medicine residency in 1984. She has been a staff physician at Group Health Cooperative since 1984 with a practice that includes the full scope of family medicine including pediatrics and obstetrics and geriatrics. She previously sailed with Semester at Sea in the fall of 1998 and spring of 2002.

Our nurse, Joan Knecht, RN obtained her MS from Cedar Crest College, her BSN from Cornell University, and an MS from Rutgers University. She is a retired professor of nursing at County College of Morris, NJ and Santa Fe Community College, NM and is currently an adjunct professor of pediatrics. She was also an Emergency Department (Level I Trauma Center) staff nurse 22 years in Morristown, NJ. This is Joan’s third SAS journey; with previous trips in the spring of 1991 and fall of 1998.

At the end of the day, we're all home

The activities fair was scheduled to begin at 7:30. I was there right on time and the line already snaked through the Union and down the corridor of the ship. Students, Lifelong Learners, staff, and faculty crowded the tables to sign up for activities and groups ranging from salsa dancing to study groups. A “create your own activity” table drew huge numbers as well, with suggestions including a Morning Talk Show, an Investment Club, and an Environmental Awareness Group.

Another big hit was the Extended Family Program, run by Lifelong Learners Coordinator Susie Brazas. Personally, this is one of the groups I am most excited about participating in. Students who signed up (looks like around 500!) will be paired up with a Lifelong Learner, faculty member, or staff member so that everyone on board will always have someone to go to with problems, celebrate a birthday with, or just have a good time. As someone who came to Semester at Sea by myself, I can’t wait to meet my “extended family!”


This is just one of the many great aspects of the Semester at Sea community. Students have only been here a few days and they are already beginning to notice some of the extra benefits of being on a shipboard campus. One student from University of Maryland, Greg Lessans, discovered a surprising bonus to being “unplugged” without a cell phone. For Greg, this has meant that when he wants to find someone, he just goes out and looks for them and in the course of doing so, he will inevitably meet new people just walking through the ship. For Zachary Grasmick, a student from UC Boulder, it has been great just running into faculty and students throughout the day. As Lia Albini of the University of Connecticut put it, “No one leaves the ship. We’re just here and we get to know everyone. At the end of the day, we’re all home.”


Photos by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Semester at Sea Celebrates Inauguration Day

Earlier today, millions of people around the world tuned in to watch Barack Obama be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. Things were no different aboard the MV Explorer, roughly four hundred miles away from Nassau in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Students, staff, and faculty gathered together in the Union and classrooms as a live webcast of the inaugural festivities was broadcast on televisions throughout the ship.

Students erupted into cheers and applause as Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden, and President Obama came onto the screen. People here across the political spectrum recognized the event as a momentous day in our nation’s history and that the peaceful transition of power embodies the greatest ideals of the United States.

The words of President Obama inspired faculty and students alike. One of the most memorable parts for Kate Shields, a student from Cleveland, Ohio, was when Obama stated, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” Kate felt that Obama’s speech offered a “renewed sense of hope, and real change.” Her twin sister, Sarah, also a student on this voyage, remarked that she was very excited to have this opportunity to travel the globe and see for herself what other countries thought about America. Similarly, Hadley Mick, a student from Colorado believed that President Obama would bring a “newfound respect for us as a country.”

We capped off the celebrations here with a reception in the Union following the last student orientation session. It featured brief remarks on the day’s events by Les McCabe, President of the Institute for Shipboard Education as well as this semester’s Executive Dean and cake for all!



Photo #1 by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Forward, Upward, Onward Together

The MV Explorer pulled out of Nassau right on schedule and we are currently on our way to Cadiz, Spain. As we left the Bahamas, and a throng of parents who looked like they were close to following us off the port, I heard from students left and right, “I can’t believe we’re really doing this.” One told me that the thought that he will literally be traveling around the world just hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m with him.

Earlier this morning, as I was walking through Nassau, I noticed a plaque on the Supreme Court building with the motto of the Bahamas, which read, “Forward, Upward, Onward Together.” I found this to be very fitting to the voyage that we are all embarking upon.


724 students, representing 235 universities have chosen to be a part of this journey. They will see, as I have in the past five days, that Semester at Sea is unlike anything else. I am not just talking about the fact that students will be exposed to different cultures and places across the globe. Less than half of a SAS student’s time is spent on land. The remaining part of a student’s time is spent aboard the MV Explorer, which is now home to all of us. There is a vibrant shipboard community here that each one of them is now a part of. It is this community, which I hope to introduce you to over the course of our voyage.

On a side note, for more regular updates on ship activities, please visit http://twitter.com/SAS_spring09 where I will be providing brief notes on student life.

SAS Welcomes Parents and Family Members Aboard the MV Explorer

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

Welcome to the Semester at Sea Voyage Blog!

I’d like to begin by introducing myself. My name is Mark Lazaroff and I will be the Communications Coordinator aboard the Spring 2009 Voyage of Semester at Sea. In addition to providing you with updates on our travels, which will include 12 port stops in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America over 108 days (please see http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/spring-2009/itinerary.php for the full itinerary) my hope is that this blog will provide you with a new perspective of life aboard the MV Explorer and the incredible experiences that happen here. This is my first voyage with Semester at Sea as well as my first time out on the ocean, so I’m sure that when I arrived in the Miami Seaport on Thursday afternoon, I was having lot of the same feelings that the student participants will most likely have when they board the ship in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday. After months of anticipation, I was extremely excited to finally be here, but at the same time, I was nervous about being out in the open seas and apprehensive about coming aboard without knowing anyone else. However, now that I’ve got about four days under my belt, I can tell you that my excitement has grown exponentially while my anxiety has been completely relieved thanks to the wonderful crew and my fellow staff and faculty. We have all spent the past few days vigorously preparing for the arrival of the Spring 2009 participants and are just as excited as they must be to begin our voyage together!