on campus - Article - Manhattan College

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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.
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.