Jenna Rose Robbins is an alum of the 1995 Spring voyage and is located in Los Angeles, California. Jenna is a writer and editor who has ghostwritten or edited more than two dozen books, including two New York Times bestsellers. Her memoir, Faithful and Devoted: Confessions of a Music Addict, was a finalist for the BookLife Prize (the independent-publishing division of Publishers Weekly) and the winner in its genre. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she went on to receive her Master’s of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California. When she’s not getting eye strain at her computer, Jenna can generally be found trying to avoid emergency rooms around the world.
Alumni
Alumni Association
2025 Update: Changes to the Alumni Association Structure
In 2024, ISE assembled the Alumni Engagement Task Force to help reevaluate and reimagine the alumni association. In the following FAQ section, we answer many questions related to the changes, the new structure, and the plans for the SAS Alumni Association going forward.
New Structure
Alumni Association Advisory Committee
We now have a primary “Alumni Association Advisory Committee” made up of eight to 12 members that will serve as a central hub for Alumni Association activities and initiatives. This committee makeup was determined through an application process.
Members will serve on self-selected rolling terms that range anywhere from one to three years, with longer terms of continuity preferred for the chairing members. The official terms will coincide with the ISE fiscal year, which runs from June 1 to May 31 each year.
Who will serve on the committee?
- Senior Co-Chair
- Junior Co-Chair
- ISE staff member from Alumni Relations
- Representation from each alumni classification (including, but not limited to; Lifelong Learners, Faculty/Staff, Young Alumni, “not-as-young” Alumni, and Parent/Legacy voyagers)
Within this committee, goals will be determined in close collaboration with ISE to ensure alignment with ISE’s strategic plan and Alumni Engagement Initiatives.
Application Information
Alumni Association Advisory Committee shall be self-nominated and must submit an application to be considered. The current application cycle is now closed.
Next Application Cycle:
Begins February 1, 2026
Questions?
Please contact Blair Klumpyan, Director of Alumni and Donor Relations with any questions or concerns.
Alumni Association Advisory Committee (AAAC)
Jenna Robbins
Senior Co-Chair
Jenna Robbins
Senior Co-Chair
Madeline Rencher
Junior Co-Chair
Madeline Rencher
Junior Co-Chair
Madeline, alumni of Semester at Sea’s last summer voyage, Summer 2014. In the years since sailing, I’ve had the opportunity to serve within the Young Alumni Council and sail on two different homecoming voyages. I completed my undergraduate degrees from the University of Utah inHonors Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Honors Bachelor of Science in Health, Society & Policy, and a Bachelor of Science in International Studies with Minors in Leadership Studies and Health and a certificate in Applied Positive Psychology. I lived in England and completed my Masters in International Relations from Royal Holloway, University of London. I now work at the University of Utah as the Program Manager, Early Engagement in Advising with Campus Advising Solutions within Undergraduate Studies. I absolutely love to travel (no surprise there!), reading a good book, spending time with family and friends, hiking and snowshoeing, and enjoying a good tv show or movie.
Brooke Wojdynski
AAAC – General Member
Brooke Wojdynski
AAAC – General Member
Brooke, a 2009 and 2010 alum, has a deep passion for SAS and is grateful be involved in this phase to reimagine and reinvent the association structure. She has a strong technology and communications background and brings a unique perspective in nonprofit development work. Her main goal with this committee is to help create a new chapter of the association with good bones and a sustainable approach to our organization’s future.
Cindy Zomchek
AAAC – General Member
Cindy Zomchek
AAAC – General Member
Cindy has had a long history with Semester at Sea, starting in the fall of 1986 as a Resident Director. She has continued to sail as a staff member on 9 additional voyages, taking on the role of Dean of Student Life and being a member of the Voyage Leadership Team member seven times. She most recently served as the Advancement/Lifelong Learner Coordinator in spring 2023. Cindy has either worked or been a volunteer for Semester at Sea consistently since the early 1990’s. She is originally from Wisconsin and prides herself on being a CHEESEHEAD (go Packers)! Cindy lives in Colorado Springs with her husband Jim, and their two dogs. They also have 9 amazing grandchildren and sailed with their first grandchild on the Spring 2023 voyage when their grandson was a student at Colorado State! They hope to have more of their grandchildren sail and always look forward to their next time onboard a Semester at Sea Voyage because the SHIP is my favorite travel destination!
“I couldn’t be a bigger fan of the program and I’m so excited to be working with this new and re-imagined alumni association! My main goal is to support our alumni and donor relations team in continuing to engage our alumni community in meaningful ways. I value SAS and am invested in the success of the program to create alumni that are thriving, connected, generous and supportive of SAS!”
Elaine Church
AAAC – General Member
Elaine Church
AAAC – General Member
Elaine, a Lifelong Learner alum from 2014 and 2016, worked as a tax attorney for the IRS National Office, then for the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation and then finished her career as a partner in the National Tax Office of PriceWaterhouse Coopers.
She has been interested in SAS since her first encounter in 1996, but it was not until 2012 when she first sailed on a 4 week+ mini semester. That trip was followed by a 5 week EV in 2013, a Spring Semester in 2014 and a Fall Semester in 2016, as well as an Alumni trip to Cuba in 2019. Elaine has also served on AABOD for many years, working within the LLL Council and in the past several years as AABOD transitioned, with the International Services Project Group.
Herb Thompson
AAAC – General Member
Herb Thompson
AAAC – General Member
Herb Thompson, longtime nickname is “Geoman”! has sailed on both the spring 1987 & summer 2004 Voyages of Semester at Sea – the first as a student and the second as a staff member coordinating a graduate program called Teachers at Sea. He’s been serving as a volunteer on ISE’s Voyagers Council since 2012 and proudly completed a rotation on the Alumni Association Board during that time. He’s sailed on so many Seminars at Sea, Enrichment Voyages, and Alumni Voyages that he’s truly lost count.
I’ve assisted with embarkations in Nassau, Seattle, Southampton, San Diego, Naples, and IJmuiden, Netherlands. In short, it seems like my spring 1987 voyage has never come to an end. I’ve lived in Las Vegas for 45 years. During that time I’ve taught both middle school and high school geography in our nation’s 5th largest school district and social studies methods classes at my alma mater UNLV and Summer Geography Institutes at UNR. I’ve also had the pleasure of being the co-coordinator of the Geographic Alliance in Nevada from 1997 to 2019, working closely with our partner, the National Geographic Society Education Foundation, to provide professional development for K-12 teachers throughout my state. I consider myself a life-long student first and a teacher second. I’m an advocate for quality, universal education and a champion for using the scientific method in all aspects of my life.
I’m a past president of the Southern Nevada Chapter of People to People International and have served as a leader for the PTPI Student Ambassador Program on four separate occasions. I’ve escorted a virtual smorgasbord of teacher and student groups to countries on six continents, including Peru, Kenya & Tanzania, Greece, Australia, Costa Rica, Russia, Egypt, and China. I’ve explored 2,300 miles of the Amazon River and experienced Mt. Everest Base Camp in Tibet. Recently, I visited Belgium and Luxembourg before helping with the Fall 2024 Embarkation. They were my 88th & 89th counties on the way to a possible 100. I would best describe myself as a Geo-Evangelist. A person dedicated to increasing the geographic literacy of every student, parent, teacher, and fellow traveler I encounter. My first Semester at Sea put me on the path I have described and continues to be an inspiration and a source of joy. It’s also a model for my subsequent explorations, along with various volunteer endeavors and my charitable giving.
James LaRocque
AAAC – General Member
James LaRocque
AAAC – General Member
James, a Lifelong Learner alumni from the Fall 2024 voyage, was a senior operations executive at a large tech company based in Denver for 23 years before retiring in 2021. He loved his experience in Fall 2024 as a Lifelong Learner, and has an active interest in seeing ISE and CSU succeed. He has managed large budgets, is a creative type and has a bias towards action. Follow up and follow through are strengths and he’s looking forward to contributing to AAAC.
Katie Adams
AAAC – General Member
Katie Adams
AAAC – General Member
Katie Adams, alum of Spring 2019 voyage, is originally from Chicago but has since relocated to St. Louis, Missouri after graduating from Lindenwood University. During her junior year of college, she sailed on Semester at Sea in Spring 2019—a transformative experience that sparked her global perspective. She is now excited to become more involved in the Semester at Sea community through the alumni association.
Katie currently works as a Coordinator at Parkside Financial Bank & Trust. Since joining Parkside, she has earned her Financial Paraplanner Qualified Professional™ (FPQP™) designation and is eager to continue advancing her career within the financial services industry. Outside of work, she enjoys staying active through pickleball and league volleyball, as well as traveling, reading, and spending time with her dog, Champ.
Marc Maegdefrau
AAAC – General Member
Marc Maegdefrau
AAAC – General Member
Marc sailed on the Spring 2024 voyage of Semester at Sea right after spending a semester abroad in Singapore. He has been supporting Semester at Sea as a Global Ambassador since the end of his voyage. After studying business, he aims to better understand our world’s workings through his degree in engineering science. Most recently, Marc has been researching atmospheric CO2 and climate change at NASA, one of his passion topics. During his free time, he likes to do a variety of sports and visit friends all over the world.
Rick Wallace
AAAC – General Member
Rick Wallace
AAAC – General Member
Rick Wallace, sailed as a student in 1982, as a family member in 1991 and became a SAS parent as his daughter sailed in 2015. He has been involved with SAS in many ways over the last 43 years, and personally helped organize the two reunions of the 90’s, at the Spruce Goose in Long Beach with over 1000 attendees!
He’s spent time on all four ships since his first voyage on the Universe, and is encouraged by the spirit and direction of the program, well described in Scott’s State of the Institute addresses. Finding ways to gradually lure long past Alum back into involvement has inspired him to join this committee.
Steven Rivera
AAAC – General Member
Steven Rivera
AAAC – General Member
Steven sailed on the Spring 1970 voyage of World Campus Afloat, also sailing on the Reunion Voyage prior to our first post Covid voyage. He has retired, served on the prior SAS committees, is an Army veteran and volunteers as a chaplain at the local VA facility. Steven worked in the maritime industry for over 40 years and have visited 75 countries to date. He is married, and has two children and credits WCA/SAS to his start in the maritime industry. “SAS gave me a love of travel and cruising – 45 to date, and I consider myself a roving Ambassador for SAS.”
Sylvia Snyder
AAAC – General Member
Sylvia Snyder
AAAC – General Member
As a Fall ’98 SAS Alumni and huge believer in the program, I am honored to be a part of this Committee. I have been an enormous advocate for the program. I have served for the last 2 years as the San Francisco Bay Area Alumni Chapter Representative. Additionally, I have led the International Service Project (in support of the Godfred’s Foundation and Semanhyia School) over the last 18 months and successfully brought this project to fruition, leading a team of alumni and life-long learners and working in collaboration with the ISE/SAS team.
I hold an MBA and began working in corporate management in the travel, software, and technology sectors. I chose to apply my degree and experience to the educational field and led the opening two 6th-12th grade private schools. While there, I supported all aspects of organizational and academic development and remained Head of School for 9 years. Once I became a mama, I applied my educational experience to the preschool sector. This allowed me to spend more time with my own family while supporting and expanding the preschool as a teacher and the Director of Strategy and Communication. Most recently, I obtained my Real Estate License and am working with Coldwell Banker in Berkeley, CA. I feel passionate about supporting the community with their Real Estate related goals and dreams.
In my personal life, I love to travel, dance, and practice yoga, capoeira, and Muay Thai. I cherish spending time with my amazing husband and our two incredible children, experiencing all the beautifully diverse communities that encompass our globe together. As a bilingual (English/Spanish) and multicultural person myself, I look forward to serving all communities.
I bring to the table 20+ years of management experience, predominantly in the educational arena. I am a strategic thinker, collaborator and pride myself in open and honest communication. I am passionate about education, empowering youth and making a difference in the lives of our children and young adults, our future. As an advocate for the Semester at Sea program, I am honored and excited to be a part of this pioneering committee. Looking forward to the work we will do together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are changes being made?
The need to reevaluate and reimage our alumni association structure to a less complex and manageable size has been lingering for quite some time. After the pandemic, it was really brought to the forefront that the structure of the organization was cumbersome and could not be sustained with the level of involvement available from AAL individuals. While there were a number of people who were interested in hearing and discussing ideas, less were able to take a consistently active role and see the ideas to fruition. Sometimes, the AAL ideas were not in-sync with the needs and direction of ISE, as the AAL was working more independently. Additionally, AAL ideas often surpassed the Home Office’s available resources to support the ideas. And, for these reasons, and many others, we needed to seek a new structure to ensure the future success of the association.
What was the process of determining the changes:
Over most of 2024, the Alumni Engagement Task Force made up of 12 Semester at Sea stakeholders, including SAS alumni from the student, faculty, staff, ISE Home Office Staff, and Lifelong Learner groups, as well as representatives providing an international and a parental perspective, engaged in a process of thoughtful and deliberate research – all with the goal of understanding the best model for SAS’s future alumni association.
The task force completed multiple types of research, including extensive examinations of best practices and models of university alumni and nonprofit organization associations to create benchmarks, historical research on past SAS models, a survey of SAS alumni (with over 1000 responses and all voyages represented!), a listening tour with stakeholders at every level (recent student alumni all the way up to SAS Board members), and several task force meetings that included strategic discussions of these methods and what might work best for the future of the SAS’s alumni association. Attend the AAL annual meeting (required for new members);
What will the new mission be for the alumni association?
Our new primary goal for the SAS Alumni Association is to “create a broad-based alumni engagement program that appeals to a wide range of our more than 74,000 alumni, with an organizational and volunteer structure that is manageable and sustainable.”
Will there still be SAS Councils?
In this new structure, the various alumni councils will be dissolved. Again, this is part of an effort to simplify the overall structure of the Alumni Association. Though the councils will no longer be part of the formal structure tied to ISE oversight, we will encourage all alumni to engage with their respective community groups through the new digital platform, Almabase. For example, alumni who sailed as Lifelong Learners can find a designated area for Lifelong Learners only. In this platform, you will find many spaces and mechanisms to connect socially, network, or plan informal get-togethers as much as you’d like with whomever you like!
If I am not able to serve on the Alumni Association Advisory Committee at this time, how can I continue to stay involved in leadership work with the SAS Alumni Association?
We know many of you enjoy volunteering and want to help in some way. One area we will really need your help is getting every SAS alumni into our new digital alumni platform, Almabase! We would love your help spreading the word to all SAS alumni about this platform, and that this will be the new central hub for all SAS alumni.
What did the Task Force learn?
Some of the key findings from this research process indicated that the previous structure of the Alumni Association, with its many counsels and groups, was complex and, at times, complicated, which made communication challenging. In the early iterations of the Alumni Association, the structure was quite a bit simpler. Over time, with the intention of enhancing the organization, more new structures and councils were added. However, these changes also unintentionally created a more intricate framework, making management and effective communication more challenging. ISE also did not have enough dedicated Home Office resources to manage the myriad of requests and ideas that were thoughtfully generated by these groups.
Additionally, the organization has evolved significantly, shifting from relying heavily on volunteer support for its day-to-day operations to utilizing advanced tools and resources to manage those tasks. This progress is a positive reflection of growth—much like watching a child grow up, head off to college, and become independent. While the connection and love remain strong, the organization is now more self-sufficient and prepared to thrive in a new era.
The research also showed strong support for establishing clear parameters to help guide the organization and keep it organized with clear goals. A clear and simple statement of the association’s mission would also be valued. As another respondent shared: the association “needs a very clear mission for advisory board and communication structure. Other organizations give alumni boards guidelines, which then prevents volunteers from drifting.” Also, because of the old model’s complexities, communication between groups was sometimes a barrier. Therefore, it’s important that the new model streamlines these efforts, especially with enhanced staff guidance and the implementation of our new digital alumni platform, Almabase (read more about this platform below!)
From the listening tours, the task force received excellent, constructive feedback, and most of those involved in the tours were excited about the newly proposed structure and approach. The listening tours, and the entire task force research process, reiterated the strength and passion of our alumni community. A demonstrated commitment to serving the needs and interests of Semester at Sea alumni;
Will local chapter events still take place? What about Chapter Reps?
Yes, local chapter events will continue! Our surveys underlined the value of local chapters and we also know this is an area that needs more attention and revitalization. Once the new Alumni Association Advisory Committee is in place, this will be an area of focus for them to improve. Having all chapter event work conducted with uniform oversight by the larger committee will help ensure consistency and adherence to committee priorities, all the while engaging chapters, leading events, and promoting connection across local groups of SAS alumni members. Additionally, Almabase will make it easier for alumni to find their local chapter and connect with others in their area through their “spaces” feature.
Will there be a Homecoming voyage soon?
At this time, there are no plans for a Homecoming voyage on the MV World Odyssey. With the ship not returning to the US, and the very limited timeframe in between voyages that is reserved for ship maintenance, there isn’t a timeframe for a Homecoming voyage to take place. However, we continue to check in with the operations team to see if anything has changed and we understand it is a high priority for many of our alumni.