BOSTON (WHDH) - Eighteen students from Boston International Newcomers Academy recently sailed back into Boston Harbor after a once-in-a-lifetime voyage.
The students sailed with the Boston-based nonprofit World Ocean School, spending two weeks aboard the Denis Sullivan ship.
Together, the students lived like sailors and worked alongside the ship’s crew to keep the vessel up and running.
“They stand watch,” said World Ocean SchooL Executive Director Eden Leonard. “They steer the ship. They do all the chores.”
Leonard said students learned navigation, ways to tie knots, and more.
“[M]eanwhile, they’re building community amongst themselves,” Leonard said.
All of the students on the voyage are new immigrants to the US.
On their trip, their destination was Ellis Island — the first stop for millions of immigrants in years past.
“These students all recently immigrated here to the US,” Leonard said.
“They’ve been in the country only a year or two, but they’ve already identified as dreamers with some real leadership tendencies,” Leonard continued. “So, this seemed like a really great opportunity to harness that and have them see themselves in a whole new way.”
In addition to learning about the process of running the ship, the students on this recent voyage also made friendships along the way.
“Now I can say everybody is my friend,” one student said. “Even the crewmates, the captain.”
Once they made it to New York, students got to experience an extra special surprise, watching fireworks on the Fourth of July near the Statue of Liberty.
“This was an amazing experience,” another student said. “We learned how to take care of ourselves, how to take care of the ship and the most important thing — how to take care of each other.”
To date, World Ocean School has worked with more than 20,000 students.
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