Bertrand talks planning, preparing for ‘Semester at Sea’

Shea Bertrand has spent a good chunk of his young life helping others.
He has helped his parents raise his two younger, autistic siblings, even serving as their home-school teacher.
He has participated in mission trips.
Now, he’s hoping to embark on a different kind of trip and educational experience.
Semester at Sea, a program through the University of Virginia, looks to combine a great education with broadening horizons. It introduces undergraduate students to global and comparative studies by focusing on structural and social changes taking place in the world today.
Bertrand looks to take on a semester and learn more about the world’s culture and experiences and make a marketable distance in the countries the ship visits.
“I have a brother and a sister who are autistic,” he said. “So, that has really inspired me to make a difference in the world.”
Speaking to the Rotary Club of Crowley Tuesday, Bertrand looked forward to what the trip is set to have in store.
The semester will begin Sept. 13 as the ship leaves port in London, England, to sail the oceans with stops in Italy (twice), Greece, Spain, Morocco, Turkey, Brazil and Costa Rica planned. Then students will debark in San Diego as the semester ends Dec. 21.
“During that time, I’ll be on a cruise ship, but I will be studying, studying world religions and world languages, anything that has to do with a global perspective,” said Bertrand.
When the ship makes port, studies stop for five days, students are greeted on board by a prominent speaker that informs the students of the country’s culture as well as the “do’s and don’ts” of the country. The students disembark from the boat and look to make a difference in the community.
“The point of this is not to go party ... not to just go have fun, but to leave an impact on those countries,” said Bertrand.
In regards to that, when the boat makes port in Ghana, Africa, Bertrand and two math majors from the ship are pooling their $5,000 “Impact Scholarship” awards together for an orphanage to be built there. The trio will be designing the orphanage and will be learning how to build one.
For Bertrand, a nursing major, the experience could prove invaluable not just in life, but some of his future plans which he hopes may include things like Doctors Without Borders.
“It’s a stepping stone for the person I want to become,” he said.
To make his dream become reality, Bertrand has undertaken fundraising efforts, and has already raised about 30 percent of the money needed for tuition, room, etc.
However, the $25,000 price tag does not include the cost of Visas, airfare from Louisiana to London and from San Deigo back to Louisiana and so forth.
Bertrand has also applied for several scholarships to offset the cost that range in awards of $500 to $13,000.
Only time will tell if he can have those. In the meantime, he isn’t just sitting around and hoping. Bertrand is choosing the proactive fundraising route.