To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Semester at Sea has been highlighting relationships that started while traveling the world. We asked our alumni to share their love story using the hashtag #SweetheartsofSAS, and we received dozens of submissions from couples all over the world.
We shared just a few of our favorites on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Now, this Valentine’s Day, three submissions found below were selected at random to receive gifts from Semester at Sea. Each couple will receive a Semester at Sea blanket and other goodies, as a thank you for melting our hearts.
Just our way of continuing to spread the love.
“Nic and I met poolside in Costa Rica the day before setting sail on the MV Explorer for the short-term Summer ’12 voyage. After our first conversation, I embarrassingly tried to see Nic every chance I could. He finally kissed me in Mira Flores, Peru and we’ve been inseparable ever since! We recently got engaged, and we are getting married in August, 2017! We can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together, continuing to travel the world. Thank you SAS for giving me the love of my life!” , Taylor Bennett and Nic Hendrix, Summer ’12
“Our paths first crossed the evening we set sail. Every student, professor and staff member crowded the top deck of the ship to watch our first sunset at sea. I was a little late to the party and searched for a place to sit. There was only one lounge chair left on the entire deck, and would you guess who it was next to? That’s right, Michael Russo. We had an instant connection, skipping the smalltalk and going straight to meaningful conversation like economics, politics, and the trips we hoped to take on our voyage. Over the next few weeks, we would grow to be close friends, eating meals together every day with our group of friends, sitting next to each other in class, sharing notes to study for exams. But soon, we realized that there was something much more powerful between us than just friendship… there always had been. There was a connection, an understanding, a familiarity in one another. Like we had known each other all of our lives. We plan to marry in the fall and couldn’t be happier that fate brought us together that first sunset at sea. Thank you, Semester at Sea, for helping me find my soulmate!” , Ariel Hall and Michael Russo, Fall ’10
“Tyler Levine and I both went to the same college in Florida, and started to connect after we learned that we had both signed up for the same Summer 2011 Semester at Sea voyage! Once we boarded the MV Explorer, we met up and spent so much time together on the boat and in all of the amazing countries we traveled to all around the Mediterranean. We experienced so many beautiful moments and had the craziest adventures during those 66 days together! It really hit me that I found someone very special when I had my 20th birthday while docked in Croatia. Tyler went out of his way to plan my entire birthday and make that day unforgettable for me. After that, we were inseparable! I could go on and on with the SAS stories like our first date on Prince Islands in Istanbul, Turkey, taking side trips to Ibiza and Mykonos, or even when we soaked in the mud baths and salt lakes of Bulgaria. But the most important part of our love story is that we walked off the ship together when we docked in Boston, and have been together ever since! It will be six years together in August 2017, and we will be coming up on our one-year wedding anniversary in April. All love stories are wonderful, but ours is my very favorite. Thank you SAS for bringing us together!” , Catie and Tyler Levine, Summer ’11
Thank you to everyone that submitted, even if your romance was not shared; and really, if you are one of the lucky few to find love during Semester at Sea, you are already a winner. Happy Valentine’s Day!
