Compass Summer students chart new waters with IYRS boat-building program
Salve students spent two weeks building a wooden dinghy from the ground up, gaining confidence, teamwork skills and experience that extends far beyond the classroom.
For many Salve Regina University students, summer is the time to pursue hands-on opportunities that stretch outside of their academic majors. This year, the new Compass Summer program "Explore Boatbuilding with International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS)" in Newport offered students the rare chance to learn the craft of boatbuilding – an experience that proved as challenging as it was rewarding.
Inside IYRS’ historic boat shop, 10 Salve students rolled up their sleeves and worked together to build a Chesapeake Light Craft kit boat using the stitch-and-glue method. Over the course of two weeks, they transformed a flat pack of lumber into an 11-foot-7-inch dinghy, designed to be rowed, sailed or powered by a small outboard motor.
"I'm not surprised that a group of disparate Salve students can come together to work, because I've seen that in my classes,” said Dr. Thomas Arruda, associate professor of chemistry and one of the program’s co-leaders. "Many Salve students come here because they're interested in our brand of education. So they naturally tend to work together really well and are open to exploring new things.”
Confidence through craft
None of the students came into the program with prior woodworking experience, taking advantage of Compass Summer to explore something new outside the classroom.
“I never expected to make them boatbuilders,” said Joel Senger, the program’s instructor from IYRS. “It was more about confidence. To build something with your hands and understand that you can craft something is a pretty special skill to have. And the teamwork has been huge. By the end of the first week, they were working like a team without me needing to tell them what to do.”
For some of the women participating, stepping into a traditionally male-dominated trade made the experience even more empowering. “One of my biggest takeaways is just realizing that we are capable of so much more than we think we are,” said Lucy Campbell ’27, a nursing major. “It’s really empowering as a woman to help build this boat and to be part of the group that made this happen.”
Skills that go beyond the classroom
Students came from across majors – biology, nursing and criminal justice – each bringing a different perspective to the boat shop. Christopher Molina ’27, a criminal justice and criminology major, said the program pushed him to grow as both a leader and a teammate.
“When choosing to come and be a part of this program, I just wanted to challenge myself with something new,” he said. “Meeting great people, developing my teamwork skills and leadership skills – this is an experience I’ll never forget.”
As the project came together – gluing, clamping, sanding and assembling the hull into shape piece by piece – students found more than just the satisfaction of building a seaworthy vessel. They gained confidence, community and an appreciation for trying something unexpected.
“My biggest takeaway from this experience is to take any opportunity that Salve has to offer, because you never know where it’s going to take you,” said Izzy Panichella ’27, a criminal justice major. “Even if you have a small interest in it, it can grow into something valuable.”
By the program’s end, the finished boat wasn’t just a symbol of craftsmanship, it represented the students’ resilience, teamwork and enthusiasm for charting new waters.
Salve’s Compass Summer program enables students to undertake a one- or two-week immersive group project that dives deeper into their field of study or lets them explore something completely different. Each project is faculty-led and offered at no cost – including on-campus housing.
