So SEA Semester…how did I get here and what am I up to?
At first, I had a mild interest in studying abroad, but didn’t see any particular program that really matched my interests. I think it was at a study away fair when I first heard about SEA, and was drawn in by the photos of tall ships on the cover of the brochures. I thought it was a cool program but felt that I wouldn’t be able to participate since I wasn’t studying biology or anything science related. However, when I looked more into it, I was surprised to find that the Global Ocean Program was open to all majors. I decided to apply because if not now, when would be the next time I’d get to do marine research on a tall ship? Quite frankly, probably never - so there’s no better time to do this than now!
This program, like other SEA programs, is split into two components: a shore component and a sea component. Right now, we’re in the middle of the shore component and are in Woods Hole taking classes. The classes I’m taking are:
- Leadership in a Dynamic Environment - mix of nautical science and leadership skills
- Conservation and Management - covering public policy and conservation efforts in marine areas
- Oceans and Global Change - covers biology and chemistry of the oceans
- Maritime History and Culture - covers early history and culture of New Zealand’s indigenous people
- Directed Oceanographic Research - time dedicated for conducting ocean-related research
The classes have been interesting so far, and it’s been both refreshing and strange to be taking no engineering classes. There are times when I wish I could be working on a hands-on project, but it’s really nice to not have the usual workload.
I’ve never been great with keeping up a blog so we’ll see how this goes. If you’d like to hear more about what I’ve been up to, feel free to send me a message!