Prachi Sanghavi is leaving the comforts of the University of Lethbridge campus to set sail for a semester at sea.
“It’s a four-month study abroad program where we get to travel the world on a ship,” the student says. “I don’t know how else to say that to make it sound more real!”
Sanghavi, along with Amanda Sakundiak and Mackenzie Salmon — who both also attend the University of Lethbridge — are setting sail at the beginning of September for the opportunity of a lifetime.
“We get to go to 11 different countries and while we aren’t in a country, we are going to be on a ship and we will be doing normal classes just like university,” Sanghavi says.
She is taking neuroscience while Sakundiak and Salmon are in marketing and kinesiology.
“The program itself and the academic credentials come from Colorado State University, so we’ve got an agreement with them that the credit that the students earn on the boat transfers to their courses,” says Chris Horbachewski, vice-president of advancement with the University of Lethbridge. “So yes, any student in any program can participate.”
Sanghavi secured her own funding for the Semester at Sea program while Sakundiak and Salmon landed scholarships for the sailing program, a first for the university.
The Brawn family and their foundation awarded the scholarships and plan to continue giving one away each year.
READ MORE: University of Saskatchewan works to increase percentage of students who study abroad
“As a result of the gift the Brawn family gave to us, we this year gave out two awards of $30,000 each to students to participate, so the program itself is about that dollar figure,” Horbachewski adds.
Kelley Buckley, the director of the Brawn Family Foundation, participated in Semester at Sea as well as a number of her family members. They are also U of L alumni and wanted to ensure other students could learn and travel the world, something Sanghavi says she can’t wait to do.
All three students will be documenting their experience. To check out Sakundiak’s blog, click here. To view Salmon’s blog, click here. To look at Sanghavi’s vlog, click here.
There will be about 500 other students from around the world joning the U of L students on the 10-deck ship. They set sail from Germany on Sept. 9.
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