27 Before 27: My shipboard community

I realized that I have told you about my exciting travels around the world but haven’t discussed the members of my shipboard community. Allow me to make a few introductions in this blog post!

From left: Me, Julie and Andrew

First, I have had the pleasure of working with two amazing colleagues in the field office this spring. My co-workers are Andrew and Julie and we have made a great team. Whether it be the steep learning curve or the piles and piles of work that just keep coming, Julie, Andrew and I have been able to tackle any obstacle this spring with smiles on our faces. I will really miss working with these two. We started as acquaintances and co-workers but will end the voyage as friends.

It has been wonderful working with and getting to know the faculty and staff. I am fortunate to have made many new friends and professional contacts during this voyage and look forward to keeping in touch after we disembark in Southampton in a few days.

The spring 2014 staff.

Spring 2014 faculty.

A little about the student body: In total, 554 students participated in this spring’s voyage. Nearly 70 percent of the students are female (this may seem high but is average for study abroad programs). Ninety percent of the students are U.S.-Americans and 10 percent are international students from countries like Mexico, China, Germany, Norway, Argentina, South Africa and many more. The most prevalent academic major is Business Administration. Nearly 17 percent of students of student hail from California with the next top states represented being New York and Illinois (also on par with study abroad industry standards). I am sorry to report that no students are from Iowa but there are many from Midwestern states.

Here’s to my spring 2014 shipboard community! We did it!