Shipboard Auction is a Success

Semester at Sea’s annual shipboard drive got off to a strong start thanks to the more than $25,000 raised in a recent one-day shipboard auction.

Students, staff and faculty bid in both silent and live auctions organized throughout the day and evening. Many in the shipboard community—including the captain and crew—as well as parents of students donated each of the 127 items that were up for bid.

“Students started working on the auction from the first week we were on the ship, and really put a lot of time into it, so we really happy with how it all turned out,” said Jenny DeLuna, a living-learning coordinator who oversaw the work on the auction.

Auction items were as small as a pizza and movie night and as large as a weeklong stay at a home in Nicaragua. The money raised during the auctions is the largest amount to date among recent summer voyages, surpassing Summer 2007 and Summer 2008. All funds raised go to the Semester at Sea Annual Fund, which supports student scholarships and on-ship programs.

“We had a lot of late nights to make sure we had it all together and, in the end, the goal was achieved,” said student Jason Morton, who was instrumental in organizing the event. "So, we had fun and did some good at the same time."