Historic 100th SAS Voyage Sets Sail from Halifax

August 28, 2009: The 100th Voyage set sail from Halifax, Nova Scotia today with 516 undergraduates representing 225 colleges and universities; 30 lifelong learners; and 67 faculty and staff. The around-the-world voyage will last 109 days and explore 11 countries. Watch the voyage's progress on the current voyage website and SAS voyage blog, which will include interviews with students, photos, video clips, and slideshows.

"This is a significant moment in Semester at Sea's history, which spans more than 45 years and has influenced the lives of more than 50,000 alumni," says Les McCabe, president of the Institute for Shipboard Education and Semester at Sea. "We are proud to celebrate Semester at Sea's first 100 voyages through a series of events that exemplify our core educational mission: the development of global understanding through life-changing international experiences."

The Semester at Sea 100th Voyage website features photos, interactive media, and alumni stories and more to commemorate this milestone.

The 109-day fall 2009 voyage will visit 11 countries and focus on the academic theme Globalization and The Post American/Flat World.

It will include an international service learning project called the $100 Solution, a student-directed initiative that helps people and communities through small acts of sustainable giving. Led by Prof. Bernie Strenecky, Ph.D., of Western Kentucky University, students in three classes will devise service learning projects at an orphanage in Viet Nam, a community center in India, and an adult literacy center in Hong Kong.

"Semester at Sea is one of the most unique educational programs in the world," said Strenecky. "The $100 Solution service learning project, the global environment of Semester at Sea, affords students the opportunity to serve others, gain leadership skills, and examine the responsibility of service itself."

In addition, members of Global Nomads Group, an international non-governmental organization that provides interactive educational programs, will use the $100 Solution curriculum to introduce service learning to students in 9,000 classrooms around the world. The program, called Currents, will help youth broaden their understanding of an increasing "flat world" in the 21st century through live, cross-cultural conversations on issues relating to immigration and globalization. Read more: www.gng.org/programs/fall2009.html#currents.

These programs, plus audio slideshows, video clips, photos, and blog reports, will be showcased on Semester at Sea's 100th voyage website. The site will also include itineraries from all 100 Semester at Sea voyages as well as a dynamic alumni photo retrospective called "100 SAS Voyages in Pictures". The return of the 100th Semester at Sea Voyage will be celebrated in San Diego, Calif. with a gala event on December 14, 2009.