Altilab2005 - Distance Education Blog

MSGL students have a lot going on.  In addition to school, many of us are juggling work, family, church, social lives and hobbies.  I add Navy Reservist to my list of extracurriculars and just performed my “two weeks a year” in Cambodia.  My mission was to provide contracting support for the USNS Mercy, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship homeported in San Diego, for the Cambodian portion of Pacific Partnership 2010 (PP10).  PP10 is the fifth in a series of humanitarian efforts aimed at strengthening regional relationships in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Amy Seiberlich, MSGL Cohort 51 student and Lieutenant in the US Navy Reserve, returning from a visit to the USNS Mercy at anchor near Sihanoukville, Cambodia.

Read the full story about the Navy’s mission in Southeast Asia.

Although excited to visit a new country, I was concerned about falling behind in my course work, especially with a big team presentation coming up.  I shouldn’t have worried because the MSGL program is designed for busy lives and global learning.   I was able to keep in touch with my team using email and Google Docs plus all the online lectures where archived so I could watch them in my time zone!  I’ve never been a big fan of working in teams but this has been a great experience.  Being able to rely on others when you aren’t able to give 100% (and who can ALL the time?) really takes some of the pressure off. 

And what about Cambodia?  Let’s just say working with so many diverse people really gave me the chance to apply some of my newly acquired MSGL skills!