Many students approach their senior year and feel that their schedule is “all over the place” as they complete final required credits. For Heather Meadows, her last semester literally is all over the place–she is spending it on a ship traveling to many foreign ports.
She is doing an internship aboard the ship, and also doing her Honors College senior project based on the experience with Dr. Tim Penning as her faculty supervisor for the project. She recently spoke with Dr. Penning about her experience.
How did you come to get this internship—how did you hear about it, what did you have to do to apply and get accepted?
I’ve known about Semester at Sea for years now, and with that I’ve also known how expensive it is. I had done a plethora of research on scholarships I could apply to and receive to help reduce the cost and SAS thankfully has plenty, one of these being the student assistant positions on the ship. SAS offers several student assistant position scholarships that voyagers can apply to, each in different realms. As an Advertising and Public Relations major, I was of course interested in the communications positions which include a vlogger position or social media assistant – both of which are very competitive positions. I’m terrible at vlogging so the obvious option for me was the social media student assistant. I knew I had to work hard on my application to be able to receive this scholarship as I learned by watching YouTube videos of people who have done SAS in the past and specifically made videos on the topic of student assistant positions.
To apply, I had to submit my resume, a cover letter, a photography portfolio, a website and/or social media tag of mine, and a sample of writing. My goal in my application was to give an accurate representation of who I am, how I operate as a creative, and how I knew my skills could best benefit Semester at Sea and vice versa.
With a minor in Studio Art, I already had a pretty substantial portfolio built up of my creative endeavors so I went ahead and put a lot of hours into building a website (through Wix) where I could showcase all of my artwork and photography in one spot. I figured the time spent on making this website for myself would be worth it for my future regardless of whether or not I received the scholarship. As for my resume, I already had one but, I wanted to create a new one to stand out from others. I began my making my resume SAS themed. By this I mean I used the school colors, elements of their logo, and similar font to what the program uses on their website to at least subconsciously trick the communications team’s brains in to thinking I already belonged. I wanted a very creative resume as I was applying for a creative position, so I included a drawn self-portrait as my headshot to put a face to my name and I artistically represented what my strongest skills and accomplishments are. Of course, I only displayed my relevant work experience and for that I must thank my colleagues and experience at Grand Valley. Through a classmate at GVSU, I was able to get the role of the Graphic Design and Social Media Intern for the Alcohol and Other Drugs Services (AOD) at GV, a position I held for about a year and a half. Without having worked this job, I don’t think I would have been able to secure the assistant position on Semester at Sea so I am forever grateful for my time there! I can also add that my capstone course at GVSU, with required meeting with the career center, thoroughly helped prepare me to write a strong cover letter and have the proper tools and resources for applying for competitive positions. I could really see those lessons coming to life in the process of this application.
How long are you gone, from when to when?
I arrived to Italy on December 29th and boarded the ship in Naples on January 5th. We disembark in Germany on April 20th which marks the end of the voyage, however I will be traveling independently to Amsterdam prior to returning home for Graduation on April 30th! So, with that being said, I will be gone for a total of four months.
What are the destinations? Do you have a favorite so far and why?
Traveling during a pandemic makes our itinerary subject to change, and it surely has. Our current itinerary looks different than the original as some countries have decided to no longer allow cruise ship travel. We knew the possibility of change going into this though and prepared to adapt. We started in Italy then went to Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, and Malta. Up next, we are going to Spain followed by Portugal, France, Scotland, Poland, Sweden, and Germany. My favorites so far have been Croatia and Malta. Croatia felt like a breath of fresh air. It was absolutely beautiful there and, as the economy in Dubrovnik thrives on tourism, the people there were so pleased to have our ship visit them. We also visited during the St. Blaise festival so the activity was rather lively and there was even more culture to learn about. The city of Dubrovnik itself was just so interesting and fun to explore. Malta was a great surprise. Since it’s such a small island in the Mediterranean we weren’t exactly sure what to expect during the month of February but what we received was fantastic. There were a lot of people there, the views were incredible, the small fishing towns were adorable, the community was kind, the activities were thrilling, and the nightlife was the best we had experienced yet! Not to mention the weather in Malta was the warmest and sunniest so far – it was nice to catch a tan. Both Croatians and Maltese people are so proud of their countries and are in love with where they live, so it was really great to experience that with them and share that love.
Tell me more about your internship role—what are you doing and about how many hours a week?
When I am on the ship, I am expected to work two hours a day and my responsibilities vary quite a bit! A really nice thing about this position is, to an extent, I get to cater it to my own goals and what I want to get out of it. As an artist, I get to showcase some of my own artwork through the role. For example, I have taken up the task of drawing/painting every port that we go to and these will be shared on the SAS social media. It’s fun to do these each week and drawing has been a relaxing way to do “work.”
A big part of my position is documenting the ship life through photos and videos from a student’s perspective. For this I go to a lot of different club meetings on the ship to capture their activity and I do my best to photograph the little, quiet moments that the outside community doesn’t get to see as much. I try to show what being on the ship is truly like by showing the real, authentic moments. With that I also share photos or videos I take while in port, although I am not required to work during that time.
I also get to interview people on the ship and gather quotes to potentially be featured on the Instagram page or in the SAS alumni magazine. These interviews can cover who that person is, their passions, what they’ve been through, the feelings their experiencing on this journey, and of course their reasons for doing SAS and what got them here. This has been a great way for me and other individuals to get to know the shipboard community better.
I’ve also been given the task of reworking SAS’ theme on their Instagram account a bit. This goes mainly for the stories they post. After we visit a port, I go through the photos voyagers submit and organize and edit them then create artistic but clean story posts to showcase our time spent in each country. I sometimes do the same for posts about ship life but often the communications team leads just do this themselves with the templates I created.
I basically just help out wherever I’m needed. Some tasks are temporary and others more consistent. Eventually I’ll be blogging for SAS as well! Overall, it’s been such a fun way to gain experience in this field. I love it.
What classes are you taking—are they aboard ship in person or remote?
The classes I am taking are Global Studies, Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship, International Marketing, and Exploring World Music. These classes are all in person aboard the ship and our class schedule is kind of funky. Days are separated into A and B Day schedules and we have class every day that we are on the ship – even if it’s a Saturday or Sunday. We don’t really get “weekends,” our days spent in-port are considered our time off! The longest stretch we have at sea I believe is 7 days but the nice thing is, the SAS administration does not make us take classes more than 5 days in a row. On the longer stretches at sea we are given a “study day” where we don’t have class and it’s a nice and needed break.
Classes only become remote on an individual basis if you are sick or diagnosed with COVID-19. The Global Studies course can be streamed on the tv’s in our room and the rest of the staff works with us to keep us up to date with our studies remotely through Moodle. They do a great job of making sure everybody gets the material they need to continue learning.
We also have something called “field classes.” All of the courses we take (other than Global Studies) include one day spent as a class in one of the ports to provide us with an experiential application of what we are learning to the “real-world.” For example, my music class was taken to a traditional musical instrument workshop and museum along with a lunch in Greece. Field classes are required as they are 20% of our grade, but it’s typically a great way to apply what we are learning to civilization in the countries we are visiting as well as build a greater bond with our professors and classmates.
What is your favorite part of semester at sea and why? Would you encourage other students to do this and why?
My favorite part of Semester at Sea is having the ability to travel the world with so many like-minded people. The community on the ship really is what makes this experience so special. There are 657 aboard this vessel (which is less than normal) and just over half of those are students. So, not only am I able to make incredible memories and lifelong connections with people around my age, I’m also able to engage and learn so much from the professors, their families, the crew, and the lifelong learners. For context, lifelong learners are adults and senior citizens living on board, attending our classes, and traveling around with us. Many of them have done SAS before and the wisdom they have to offer is not easy to find elsewhere. I’m just over a month in on this journey and I know for a fact that I’ve built some relationships that will stay with me forever and, in my opinion, that is the most important part of SAS.
Absolutely I would encourage other students to do this. It’s a tremendous growing opportunity and wonderful way to see the world and meet awesome people. It’s a challenge worth taking and the benefits far outweigh the costs. However, you have to be the right kind of person. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who don’t cope well when plans change, are close-minded, or are big homebodies (that is, struggle from being away from home for a long time and get uncomfortable moving around a lot). It’s also very difficult to get pure alone time, so that’s definitely something to consider.
What will you do when this is done?
I don’t exactly know yet! I like it that way. I’m graduating April 30th and don’t have a job lined up but this doesn’t at all worry me. A big reason I did Semester at Sea was so it could guide me into what I wanted to do. Originally, I planned to do it slightly earlier in my college career but, you know, the pandemic did its thing. Whether I learn what I want to do through my traveling, my networking and communicating on board, or just by simply giving myself more time to contemplate what I really want, I’m confident it’ll all work out. I also wanted to make sure I had this social media assistant position under my belt so I could have that be a highlight on my resume. Thankfully I’ve already made some relationships that can connect me with some jobs I’m very interested in! Once I get home and directly after I graduate, I will get to applying to the company’s that intrigue me. Some may say I’m pushing the application process off too late but, in my opinion, I don’t feel the need to rush into a 40-hour work week and it isn’t exactly easy to apply to jobs when you’re at sea with no service for 4 months! Until I get into my career, I will probably work a smaller job over the summer and do some more traveling around the U.S. as I think it would be nice to live in a different state for a while and I want to thoroughly explore those options.
How do you think this experience will help you in your career? And, what specifically do you want to do in Advertising and PR after graduating?
This experience is going to help me immensely in my career. As I am interested in working in creative Advertising, I expect that having this on my resume should boost my chances at getting a job I really want. The skills I am developing and refining through this job will help me in any career I get into as I have to work in a team, get creative on our communication techniques, and disseminate information to thousands of followers while at sea. In terms of the experience as a whole with Semester at Sea, my ability to be flexible and adapt in unfamiliar circumstances is being exercised like it never has before. Traveling to 12 countries while taking 12 credit hours is one thing, but doing it during a pandemic is another. I believe I’m practicing a number of skills that will allow me to thrive better in the workplace once I move into my career.
As for what I specifically want to do in Advertising and PR after graduating, I want to work in a creative role ideally in the outdoor industry. I have a passion for hiking, camping, being outside, and traveling. If I can apply my creative and communicative skills to that industry, I think I would be very content. With that being said though, I am very open to a lot of options. Whatever and wherever it is I end up, I could see myself working up toward the role of a Creative or Art director.
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