By Dot Bergin
Hailey Millar may have logged more miles in a few short months than most of us do in a lifetime. The 20-year-old student at Chapman University, Orange, California, spent her spring semester at sea aboard the MV Explorer, visiting some 14 countries in 112 days.
You can see some of the results of that voyage in Hailey’s photographs which are exhibited on the Community Art Wall at the Bedford Free Public Library until the end of August. A 2013 graduate of Bedford High School, she is working toward a bachelor of fine arts degree in news and documentary film at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media arts.
The MV Explorer left San Diego (port of Ensenada, Mexico) on January 7, 2015 with Hailey and 700 students aboard along with faculty and a contingent of older “lifelong learners.” The ship visited seven countries in Asia and four in Africa, finally docking in Southampton, England on April 29.
When the ship stopped for several days, as it did in various port cities, Hailey was free to leave and spend time in the city, staying overnight in a hotel if she chose. While on board, she attended regular classes for part of the day in art, writing, psychology, and religion (the religion classes helped in understanding the culture of the countries she visited.) Students on the semester-at-sea program receive full credits for their class work. And there was free time for socializing and making new friends. In age, the shipboard population ranged from three years to 76.
When asked why she chose this educational “adventure,” Hailey said she thought it would be the best way to see a big part of the world at one time. She has already been to Europe. Of all the countries she visited, Hailey said Cambodia had the most impact on her. The poverty there was unbelievable. When the ship docked in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the students were able to make an overland visit to Cambodia.
When asked which Bedford High teacher had the greatest influence on her art, Hailey said Larry Sheinfeld, her photography teacher, encouraged her greatly. She took four classes with him in her senior year and said, “He never gave up on me!”
Although some students might have been homesick during such a long trip, Hailey is accustomed to being far away from home. In fact, she only applied to colleges in California and chose Chapman because of its location and smaller size (7000 students.) Now that she’s back in town for the summer, Hailey is doing some free-lance photography and making videos. Her original goal was to be a wedding photographer but she has enlarged her vision greatly now and hopes for a career making documentary films.
Loading ...
