Maryam Al-Dabbagh, a current Saudi student of the law program at Dar Al-Hekma University, has been selected as part of her undergraduate law degree to take part in the competitive Semester at Sea (SAS) voyage.

The SAS is a US-based program sponsored by the University of Virginia, in which participating students spend a semester on a cruise-ship-campus and travel across 10 countries in Europe. The students take classes while sailing and go on excursions while on the land.

“As one of the international students, my experience this summer was unparalleled on many levels, including in travel-related, academic, and personal ways,” said Al-Dabbagh. “While it's definitely difficult to keep track of schoolwork on such a high-speed and intense schedule, ultimately I would say it's worth it. There’s no other comparable program anywhere in which you can accomplish the same things as on SAS, and I took advantage of that.”

Al-Dabbagh participated in four classes: International Relations, International Law, Social Change, and Sustainable Consumption, which were taught by world-class professors from top institutions.

“On a personal level, it was a life-changing experience. Putting aside the in-country travel and academic challenges, simply getting to interact with all the different people I met — whether on-ship or off — was amazing,” said Al-Dabbagh.

Al-Dabbagh added that she also took pride in being able to contribute a point of view based on her own heritage. “As the only person wearing a hijab on the entire ship, I was able to spread knowledge about Islam and Muslims through a talk and Q&A session I hosted. I had the pleasure of showing several students around a mosque in Stockholm, and had many enlightening conversations on a myriad of subjects that have genuinely changed my view of the world. SAS is truly the adventure of a lifetime; it was an experience I will never forget.”

“Maryam is simply an amazing person who has very strong leadership skills,” said Suhair Hassan Al-Qurashi, president of Dar Al-Hekma University. “She is an outstanding student and that is why you will find her in the president’s honor list.”

Al-Qurashi added that Al-Dabbagh is full of talent and is always active. “A student like Maryam is considered a role model to her fellow students at the university, which makes the investment in her development have a ripple effect.”