Providing Safe Passge

In 1997, a schoolteacher in North Carolina named Hanley Denning decided to spend a year in Guatemala to work on her Spanish so that she could communicate better with her Spanish-speaking students. Somehow, one year turned into two but after that, she was all set to go home. As Hanley neared the end of her time in Antigua, however, a friend of hers brought her along on a visit to the slums next to the Guatemala City dump.

What she saw there would change her life. The families living in and next to the dump basically survived off of what they could find there. They made their living on whatever they could unearth and sell amidst the trash, often ate whatever remains they could find, and without any money for an education, they had no prospects of ever being able to lift themselves out of poverty.


That very same week, Hanley founded Camino Seguro, which means “Safe Passage” in English. By going into her savings and having her parents sell her car and computer back in the U.S., Hanley was able to put together enough money to educate 40 children who were living in the Guatemalan City dump.

“We believe every child should have the opportunity to receive an education and to go as far as they are able in school. Our programs are designed so that each child can gain the skills needed to obtain stable jobs, to be self-sufficient and to lead their families out of poverty in a dignified and permanent way,” the program’s goals state. Camino Seguro works to provide the children of families living in and near the dump with an education, nutritional support, medical attention, vocational training programs, and extracurricular activities.

2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the organization’s founding. Tragically, Hanley was killed in an automobile accident in Antigua in 2007 but the work that she began and Camino Seguro have continued on the path that she laid out. Today, over 550 Guatemalan children are being educated by Camino Seguro and receiving assistance through its other programs.

While we were in Guatemala, two groups of Semester at Sea voyagers traveled to Guatemala City on service projects and visited the dump to see the work being done there by Camino Seguro. “It was one of the most inspiring yet horrifying things I’ve ever seen,” said Nancy Abbott. “The people there are in a terrible cycle of poverty that they can’t get out of because they can’t afford education.” Camino Seguro provides the means for these families to pull themselves out of poverty.

During their visit, voyagers were able to speak with the staff of Camino Seguro and meet with some of the families benefitting from their good work. This service project, and the many others that students have participated in over the voyage have really inspired many into action. “I don’t want to just go home and sit down,” said Sarah Shields. When she returns home, she is planning on looking into ways to raise money and awareness for the different causes she has volunteered for while on Semester at Sea. Many students have also said that they would like to return to organizations that touched them to volunteer for lengthier periods of time.

Last Stop, Guatemala

Tomorrow morning at 8:00am, the MV Explorer will be docking in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, the final port visit of the Spring 2009 Voyage. The port itself is one of the largest in Guatemala and puts many of Guatemala’s greatest sites within just a few hours reach.

One of best destinations will surely be Antigua, located in the central highlands of Guatemala. It is not a big city, but it is known for its incredible architecture and natural beauty, which includes three large volcanoes that surround the city. It was even designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A number of voyagers will be traveling there through a homestay program that will place them with a Guatemalan family for the duration of our stay in the country.

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site that will be visited by voyagers is Tikal, a major archaeological site of the Mayan civilization. Located in the northern part of the country, Tikal thrived from roughly 200-900. It is located in the midst of a rainforest and is home to thousands of ruins, the largest being six Mesoamerican step pyramids. There is still much to unearth at the site.

There are also scheduled trips to climb Guatemala’s incredible volcanoes, immerse oneself in Mayan culture, and do service visits that will address some of the issues of poverty in the country. The array of options available to voyagers should provide something to everyone, and it should be a great finale to an incredible voyage.

Academic Support

Most students are probably breathing a big sigh of relief right now. Yesterday was the last full day of classes and this afternoon, they completed the final Global Studies exam. There are two more days of exams and then the academic calendar for the semester is finished! I thought this would be a good point to tell you more about the academic support system that has been in place all semester to help students with their classes and other academic pursuits.


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.