When Sean Kelley, a student on the Semester at Sea (SAS) Spring 2024 Voyage, completed a field program at the Semanhyia American School in Senase, Ghana, he knew his life had been changed forever. Sean, along with 30 fellow voyagers, was deeply moved by their visit to the school, which has transformed the lives of thousands of children and brought positive change to the Senase village community for over a decade. The group experienced the warmth and hospitality of the locals and saw firsthand how the school provides educational opportunities that many children in the area might not otherwise have. “Everything about Semanhyia American School was so wholesome,” Sean said. “The co-founder, Fred, is incredible. The kids are so impacted by the school, the teachers are great, and the hospitality is completely welcoming. There was just so much joy.”
The Semanhyia American School, a project of the GodFreds Foundation, has deep ties to Semester at Sea. The school itself is a collaboration between Barbara Allison, a co-founder of The GodFreds Foundation and a Semester at Sea Lifelong Learner alumna, and Fred Benneh Frimpong, a Senase local who met Barbara when he led a three-day homestay tour of Senase for Semester at Sea in 2013. Barbara became deeply inspired by Fred’s vision to grow and inspire his home village, and, when Fred was accepted into the Hult International Business School in London to study Social Entrepreneurship, Barbara pledged to cover his remaining tuition balances. After completing his degree, Fred returned to Senase more determined than ever to make an impact–and, in 2015, Fred and Barbara co-founded the Semanhyia American School. The name “Semanhyia,” which means “What if we’d never met?” in Twi, honors their enduring friendship and shared mission to improve the lives of the Senase community. Starting with just two classrooms in 2015, the school now serves hundreds of students from pre-kindergarten to grade 9.

For Sean, the mission of the Semanhyia American School was so inspiring–and his visit so impactful–that he left the Spring 2024 field program driven to also help the Senase community. So, on the last day in Ghana, after returning from the field program, Sean brainstormed with friends on ways to fundraise, and the idea of running marathons came to the table. One friend, coincidentally, was already signed up for the Philadelphia marathon, and another lived in town and offered their home as lodging. From this conversation, this group of six decided that they would run the 2024 Philadelphia Marathon together. The next night, the group used the ship’s Academic Success Center and Library to secure their spots in the marathon. For Sean, selecting to run a marathon was also an awesomely audacious choice: he was not even a runner at the time, and had never run long distances before–let alone a full marathon!
Philadelphia would eventually serve as the spot where some 60 voyagers from the Spring 2024 Voyage would gather – enjoying a mini-reunion and also furthering many of their goals to raise money for the Semanhyia American School. “Word got around quickly on the ship that we’d signed up for the marathon,” Sean said. “Before we knew it, we had 40 or so people from the voyage signed up for the marathon to join us. That way, when we left the voyage, it wasn’t ‘see you again sometime in the future’ – it was, instead ‘see you later this year in Philly!’”
By the time the marathon rolled around, which was held from Nov. 22 – 24, 2024, more than 50 voyagers from SAS Spring 24 gathered in Philadelphia, either to run the full marathon, run the half marathon, or just to cheer on their fellow SAS alumni friends. The weekend also became a mini-reunion for the Spring 2024 Voyage; over the weekend, the Spring 2024 alumni stayed together in shared homes and enjoyed other elements of the Philadelphia experience, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the “Rocky Steps.” For several of the voyagers, the marathon event was also an opportunity to fundraise for the SAS experiences, such as the Semanhyia American School, which meant so much to them. In the end, Sean raised $600 for the school, through the Godfreds Foundation’s Semester at Sea International Service Projects Committee donation system. A fellow voyager, Casey Riley, also ran the marathon and raised $780 for the same cause.
For Sean, who will begin a new job in Boston this fall, the experience in Philadelphia solidified the Spring 2024 Voyage alumni group, and he looks forward to their next reunion. Sean also looks forward to staying in touch and uplifting the Semanhyia American School and the Senase community for the long haul–he hopes to go back eventually to volunteer for a longer period of time, and he hopes to continue to find ways to raise money for the school and The Godfreds Foundation. “It was all just really special,” Sean said. “To be able to see my fellow voyagers in Philadelphia, and to raise money for this amazing place that impacted many of us while we were in Senase – it was all so joyful, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”