Magazine

Ask WCU senior Madison Richter where she spent the spring 2023 semester and it might take her a while to answer. That’s because Richter visited 11 foreign cities in 11 countries on three continents as a participant in Semester at Sea. The program offers a floating college campus to some 500 students on the ship MV World Odyssey. For 105 days, from January 5 to April 20, Richter took classes while seeing the world.

Richter said she had considered studying abroad in Australia but didn’t like the idea of being in one location. Semester at Sea afforded her the opportunity to visit many places while studying.

“You get the experience of going to all of those places, but it’s organized. You have the transportation to get there. I’d never seen anything like that before,” Richter says.

Before she even set sail, Richter traveled farther than she ever had before, flying to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where she boarded the ship. Her travels took her to India, Kenya, Jordan, through the Suez Canal, and then on to Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Spain, Morocco, and Portugal.

Richter took four classes with 12 academic credits on shipboard. As a finance and economics major, Richter chose economics courses, which have a required field class that students attend in the various countries. Richter’s field classes included a visit to the World Bank in Morocco. In addition, all students take the required core course Global Studies where they learn about the countries they visit. Guest lecturers brief students about destinations.

The ship boasted everything found on most college campuses, including activities, workout facilities, and entertainment such as movie nights and game nights. Students have roommates and dine together.

The first stop in Mumbai, India, was a humbling experience, Richter says, showing students what a privilege it was to live in a first-world country. “We toured the slums and people were so happy to show off their houses. They were so grateful to have a place to stay and to sleep. And when you compare it to what we have here. … We’re traveling the world on a cruise ship.”

One of Richter’s favorite places was Kenya where she went on safari, seeing wild zebras, elephants, and other wildlife, and visited children in an orphanage. “I would go back there ten more times,” she says. Another highlight was visiting the Dead Sea in Jordan, with its super-saturated salt water that allows people to float effortlessly. “You couldn’t even walk halfway in before your feet would starting bobbing up,” she chuckles.

She also remembers a special night on the ship. “One night the captain turned off all the lights on the ship so we could stargaze,” she recalls. “We were in the middle of the ocean and everyone was just lying there on the deck listening to him describe which stars we were seeing.”

Richter says Semester at Sea convinced her that she wants to travel more. And thinking back to how quickly those 105 days passed, she says, “I need to be living more in the present.”