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Wesleyan Student Reflects on SEA Program in French Polynesia
SEA in the NEWS
“Exploring Sustainability, Building Community, and Fostering Connections: Frances Ostensen ’24 and Her SEA Semester”
By Rachel Wachman
The Wesleyan Connection
Feb. 2023
When Frances Ostensen ’24 set sail aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans this fall, she knew she was in for an adventure.
Ostensen, a biology and Science in Society Program double major who spent the semester abroad with the Sea Education Association (SEA), learned more about the environment, human civilizations, and their endless connections than she ever expected.
Her chosen program, called Sustainability in Pacific Island Communities and Ecosystems, began in Woods Hole, Mass. in October. After flying to the South Pacific in November, Ostensen set sail in a loop around Polynesia alongside seven other students, professors, and crew members on a 134-foot brigantine. The group visited the islands of Tahiti, Mo’orea, Huahine, Rangiroa, Nuka Hiva, Ua Huka, and Raroïa.
Frances Ostensen sailed with SEA Class S-306, Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures & Ecosystems, in the fall of 2022.
Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | [email protected] | www.sea.edu