By Kaeli Van Cott STAFF WRITER
Semester at Sea is a very open and giving community, and if you ask any person on board for help with something, they always seem to say yes. I decided on a whim to approach Joe Belfiore, the corporate vice president of the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, for an interview to get a better insight on how and why he decided to embark on Semester at Sea with his family. Joe was more than willing to help and was happy to let me interview him, as well as his wife and children.
One night on the ship, I sat down for dinner with the Belfiores and learned about Joe’s involvement with Microsoft and his unique decision to bring his family on a trip around the globe.
Joe is typically responsible for the design and software on Windows phones. His 25-year career has been based on designing and tweaking the software that makes up products used by millions of people, but recently decided to take a break from that life to focus on five specific people: his wife Kristina, his three children and himself. After Joe met with Microsoft, he decided to take an unpaid, nine-month leave of absence to travel around the world with his family as participants of Semester at Sea.
In Nov. 2015, Joe and Kristina pulled their kids – Alexander, 12, Sydney and Piper, 8 – out of their schools in Washington to begin their yearlong travels around the globe. Before the family left the United States, they decided to bring their three children throughout parts of the South and the East Coast to learn about different aspects of American culture. In Jan., the family of five boarded the MV World Odyssey, Semester at Sea’s ever-moving ship.
“We wanted our children to be exposed to things that are immutable truths,” said Joe.
The Belfiores decided to embark on Semester at Sea because of its educational environment and variety of locations the trip features. “The world is not just Seattle,” said Kristina.
Despite being away from their schools in Washington, Alexander, Sydney and Piper still continue their educations on board. They work on projects related to their experiences in port. Alexander, for instance, wrote a paper on his family’s experiences at a Microsoft factory in China, where they were able to see how operators create the products Joe designs.
Kristina formerly worked for Microsoft for 12 years as the director of college recruiting and internships, and later became a stay-at-home mom. She and Joe were both mulling over the idea of taking the children abroad for a long time, but found that the timing was right for Semester at Sea’s spring 2016 voyage.
Alexander, Sydney and Piper are all at a point in their education that allows them to take the time off for a trip like this one, which would probably not be the case if Alexander was in high school.
Microsoft was also very happy to work with Joe on his leave of absence, because his designs for their latest project were taken care of, and the remaining team could handle any other concerns with the software.
Joe and Kristina have been very happy about how their children have gained exposure to the world and how it reinforces what they have taught their children.
“Without traveling and seeing these places, theory never becomes reality,” said Joe. After their travels, Joe and the rest of the Belfiores will return to their home and life in Washington.