Programs Blog

Date: 10 September 2023

Time: 1945

Location: Sea Education Association campus, Woods Hole, MA

Weather: Sunny/Partly Cloudy

Let’s do this one more time. Sea Education Association has been quite an experience, as well as getting used to a new environment. My name is Timothy Chiu, from Long Island, New York. I am majoring in biology at Carleton College, Minnesota, a small liberal arts college. I think it is the experiences accumulated more than the time in school that creates a person, so I am trying to go to as many places as possible, which brought me to this program. 

All the classes are diverse and challenge my views to think deeper about the environment around me, both in and out of nature. Although there is a lot of reading and writing, Environmental Communication has been amazing. Even though with the ton of work, learning how to translate more complicated articles into understandable papers for people to read is a fantastic skill to have. 

There has always been a rift between the media and scientific community so that it’s difficult for people to just pick up a scientific paper. This is one of the reasons I explore so much, so I can improve my knowledge and share everything I know with the people around me. I want to allow the people not as well versed in science to understand and expand their own knowledge about the world around them. 

The most important class when sailing is Nautical Science, which has been a unique class because all the skills taught are hands on and physical: knot tying, map  reading, plotting courses, climatology, and fun boat terminology. I love hands on work, and it’s the biggest reason I chose SEA, because I get to study oceanography on the ocean. Working with maps (known as charts for the water) was difficult, but intuitive once we practiced plotting a course, taking bearings, and finding longitude and latitude. 

The most intriguing class is Marine Environmental History, studying the historical aspect of sailing, both through the animals, and ships people sailed. I always loved history, learning about the past that is surprisingly impactful, even in the present. Marine History is even more interesting because humans devise so many different ways to solve a problem when confronted with adversity, which in this case is sailing. 

Living with a bunch of strangers at the beginning was difficult to adjust, but getting to know so many wonderful people, we immediately got along. The housing is set up with two main cottages, Antares and Bellatrix, with eight people in each. I have gotten to know so much about my housemates, but I hope to hang out with Antares House a lot more in the future! Even with the challenges ahead, I am really excited for what the future holds, especially because all of us in the Ocean and Climate cohort will be in it together. 

I want to give a shout out to my mother and sister who have helped me get into this program and experience a new part of the world I have never known!