A few days into his Fall 2024 Voyage, Alex Sahli knew already it was the best decision he’d ever made. Even though he’d previously been to around 15 countries, the Cal Poly computer science major from Portland knew he still wanted to study abroad, and, when he saw on a recent voyage map at a school fair that SAS had traveled to Mauritius, he knew he had to join an upcoming voyage. “How many other programs will take you to somewhere as far out and, like, kind of obscure as Mauritius?” he asked.
When Alex boarded the MV World Odyssey for Voyage 134, he didn’t exactly have the typical student experience abroad, given that he was in regular conversation with LEGO, a multinational, multi-billion-dollar corporation, for the entirety of the voyage. This is because Alex, an avid brick builder since childhood, had recently entered into a collaboration with LEGO to launch his LEGO Ideas Project: a 3,251-piece model of the Italian Riviera. Just the 67th of such projects since 2008 chosen by the LEGO Corporation to move from a home build to a fan submission to an officially sellable set, Alex diligently met with LEGO reps from Wifi cafes and Airbnbs along his voyage to move the project through each phase. Alex’s Italian Riviera LEGO model, now available for $299, also includes nods to Semester at Sea, including a sticker with the number 134, in honor of his Fall 2024 SAS voyage.
But Alex didn’t stop there. Soon into his SAS voyage, he became inspired to also make a model of the MV World Odyssey – his “home for four months.” While on the ship, (and collaborating with LEGO on the Italian Riviera set, taking classes, and traveling the globe!), he used a CAD program to start the initial design. And he started on some of the intricate details, including the MV World Odyssey’s distinctive stacks, pool, and top decks. From there, the project became a true engineering sprint for Alex, from the ship back to college in California, with nearly five months of design, one month of building instructions, around three months to source parts, and then the final couple of weeks to create the final build.
Even though Alex was extremely busy on his voyage with these projects, his SAS experience was in no way diminished. “I met so many amazing people and did so many amazing things on this voyage,” he said. “I really had to build the World Odyssey just so I could have a lifelong reminder of the experience back at home.” In addition, Alex’s friend, Aidan Perkel, used Alex’s instructions and built a second MV World Odyssey model—so there are two models out in the world.
Today, the MV World Odyssey brick model is in California doing what the Semester at Sea does best: sparking conversations. Alex works as a peer advisor at Cal Poly’s International Center, and the office asked him to share the ship with future travelers. It’s now on display in the office, and students frequently stop by just to check it out (and, of course, learn more about Semester at Sea).
If you ask Alex how computer science fits into this story, he’ll tell you the through-line is making things and solving problems: “My major is, in a lot of ways, similar to LEGO design, which is building stuff and solving problems.” He also details his LEGO builds on his Instagram page, Galaxy Brickworks. As far as his future is concerned, Alex is open about what comes next, with both cybersecurity and artificial intelligence on his radar; he also says he wouldn’t shy away from exploring options if LEGO came calling him for a role. No matter his path forward, Alex says he now carries a lesson from SAS into life on land: “I think having a plan is great, but I think I’ve learned it’s also just as great to be open to changing that. Both LEGO and Semester at Sea have taught me this.”
