MC_2006_Spring_28
5/9/06
2:42 PM
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Seafaring Alum Finds Inspiration Abroad: A Personal Account by Ben Gwynne ’05
September 2004. I am in Nha Trang, Vietnam, which was the site of a U.S. military beach during the Vietnam War. Since then, it has been a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful beaches. While there, we took a day trip to Monkey Island. Monkeys roam free on the island, and it was safe for us to feed them food out of our hands (really cool!). We also had the option to be lifted up by an elephant for the price of $1.
I was heading home toward the 242nd street train station in October 2003 when I bumped into my friend Crystal. What happened to be a chance encounter, ended up changing the direction of my life to this day. I was a junior at the time and was set to apply for a program spending a semester of my senior year interning in Washington, D.C. Being a government major, it was an excellent opportunity for me. In Crystal’s hand was an application for Semester at Sea, a study abroad program with which I was unfamiliar. Crystal told me about it briefly: it was just students from across the United States who travel around the world for a semester on a ship, stopping in 10 countries and taking classes in between. The quick description was enough to delay mailing in my application for Washington, D.C. — just another day. I went home to look up Semester at Sea on the Internet, and I was immediately captivated. I spent hours researching the program online, looking into the countries it traveled to, what I could do when I visited, and the unique courses offered on the ship. It was then that I decided I would no longer be venturing to Washington, D.C., but instead, in August 2004, I would depart on a ship with 650 college students making a voyage around the world. I knew a trip like this would impact my life, but I was unaware that it would change it so quickly.
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The Semester at Sea program opened my eyes to the rest of the world. I had never been happier and, each day, looked forward to sharing my experiences with my friends, family and faculty back home. I frequently e-mailed them stories about the places I went, people I had met, and sent pictures of sites I had seen. Upon my return, I was notified by Nancy Cave, the study abroad advisor, that I had been awarded a $1,250 scholarship, which is given to a student who “excels in the study abroad experience.” Being awarded for an experience that changed my life is an honor I will never forget. The scholarship I received was a credit to what I put into my experience abroad, so I decided I had to use it toward another trip that would take me to new lands. I used my new funds to support a backpacking trip to Europe after graduation in May 2005, and the journey was just beginning.
A good friend I met while studying abroad encouraged me to apply to graduate school in England. I took her advice and found out in a matter of weeks that I had been accepted into several schools. Soon after, I made the decision to attend the University of Exeter that fall to earn my master’s degree in public administration and public policy, where I am very happy at this moment. All of those travels took place in less than a year, and they all happened because of that day I bumped into Crystal. She will never understand the importance of that chance meeting, but I will be forever grateful. I do realize that I have been blessed with opportunities few will ever have, but I take solace in the fact that even fewer take advantage of those opportunities when they have the chance. In 2003, I had no idea that a year later I would be spending a semester on a boat traveling around the world, the recipient of a scholarship, or attending graduate school in England. These decisions helped bring me closer to the College community, without which I have no idea what my experiences at Manhattan would have been like, and also helped me become more in touch with myself. Semester at Sea calls its program a “voyage of discovery,” and I think, for me, it still continues to this day. The destinations I have been to and the choices I have made in the past two years may seem random, but I think they all make sense. When everything ends, I am sure it will feel like something I was supposed to be doing all along. Only time will tell, and who knows where life will bring me when I complete my graduate program in England — we will see come September 2006. September 2004. I am on a Sampan boat ride in Aberdeen Harbor in Hong Kong. Houseboats, floating restaurants and fishermen fill these waters. Taking a tour of the city this way is very popular and offers excellent views of the city. The drivers are friendly and give you these cool hats to wear, if you want — and with some American charm, allow you to drive the boat.