The World Ocean School, a nonprofit educational organization operating the tall ship Denis Sullivan, invites Virgin Islands students to its Summer Ambassador Program.
Based in Boston and St. Croix, the program offers middle and high school students immersive, multiday sailing experiences designed to develop leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills outside a traditional classroom setting.
The Summer Ambassador Program places small groups of students aboard the Denis Sullivan, a 137-foot schooner, where they take on active roles in sailing the vessel. Rather than passive observation, participants are expected to handle lines, navigate, stand watch, and collaborate on daily operations. The curriculum emphasizes peer collaboration, real-time problem solving, rotating leadership opportunities, and trust-building exercises. The program intentionally recruits students from diverse races, genders, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds, a design feature participants cite as central to its impact.
Carmen Bird, a teacher at Alfredo Andrews Elementary School, a public school on St. Croix, has observed the program’s effects on her students over multiple cohorts. “I watched students who rarely interacted with one another in a classroom learn to walk side by side, communicate, and rely on each other in ways that felt completely new. Some of my quietest students stepped into leadership, while others discovered strengths they didn’t know they had. Being out on the water pushed them to collaborate, problem-solve, and trust themselves and each other,” said Bird.
Avery Adams, a St. Croix student who participated in the Summer Ambassador Program in 2023 and again in 2025, asserts that this program shapes the entire child. “The Summer Ambassador Program is like no summer program I have ever experienced. From the moment I stepped onto the Denis Sullivan, I knew that that was where I belonged. I had never felt more loved, supported, and welcomed more by a group of people I had just met. By the end of the program, I was sobbing, because it felt like I was leaving family,” said Adams.
For some participants, the program alters long-term career trajectories. Sophia Adsit-Gerlica, who completed the Advanced Ambassador Program in 2025 and the Winter Ambassador Program in the same year, experienced a complete reversal of her prior attitude toward maritime activities. “I used to be incredibly nervous when it came to anything water or boat-related, but at the World Ocean School, my perspective almost completely changed. Now I hope for a career in the sailing field,” said Adsit-Gerlica.
This summer’s program is open to eighth- to 12th-grade students and will take place between Aug. 3 and 10. Participants will be sailing out of Boston, Massachusetts. Scholarship opportunities are available for USVI students and the program application deadline is June 1. Students interested in participating can complete the application found at this link.
For more information about the World Ocean School Program, visit the website www.worldoceanschool.org or email Nona Hunter at Nona@worldoceanschool.org.
