News from the Helm

Behind the Scenes: The College Tour Episode on Semester at Sea

News from the Helm I November 25, 2022

Choosing where to go to college is a big deal and this process begins long before stepping foot on campus. While in-person campus visits certainly help in decision-making, they still have their own limitations. The challenge? Fitting a four-year experience into a short guided tour led by only one student perspective. The solution? The College Tour.

The College Tour is a TV series brought to you by multi-award-winning producers and tells the story of colleges and universities worldwide. Each episode focuses on a single college or university through the authentic lens of 10 student hosts who share their unique perspectives on everything from campus life to academics, housing, athletics, and more.

And the initial decision of where to go to college is just the first of many questions to answer: What should I study? Where should I live? Should I study abroad and if so, where? The College Tour embarks on a journey to answer the latter by highlighting a one-of-a-kind study abroad experience like no other… Semester at Sea!

The production crew, along with co-creators Alex Boylan, Lisa Hennessy, and Burton Roberts, joined voyagers in Aqaba, Jordan to capture life on a floating college campus during a 10-day stretch to Mombasa, Kenya. While on the ship, The College Tour will produce a 30-minute episode about 10 voyager stories and the shipboard community at large. 

When the crew isn’t filming, they engage with voyagers by sharing meals, meeting one-on-one with students, and speaking to groups about the film industry.

As part of a ship-wide educational talk, Lisa Hennessy gave a presentation titled, “Lessons Learned Creating and Executive Producing TV Around the World” in which she shares her own story and what she learned while working on some of television’s highest-profile productions such as Survivor, The Biggest Loser, and Eco-Challenge. Her takeaway for students was to “be the author of their own story” by making the most of the opportunities and connections they encounter during Semester at Sea and beyond.

“It is so rewarding for our team to be among so many talented students, faculty, and staff.” Lisa shares, “I have had so many conversations with bright-young minds who are on their own journey to do what they love and make the world a better place. It’s a privilege for us to not only be here to capture this exceptional program, but to experience the magic of Semester at Sea for ourselves.” 

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements about the upcoming release of The College Tour episode on Semester at Sea!