In celebration of his final semester as a philosophy professor, the philosophy department is sending David Boersema on the trip of a lifetime to space, the final frontier on the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
Philosophy Department Chair and Professor Ramona Ilea collaborated with senior Keyah Agoot in planning the trip for Boersema and his wife.
Agoot was a student of Boersema’s Star Trek and Philosophy class earlier this spring semester and immediately started conversations with Ilea after the first class.
“I could see his passion for the class and I thought, how cool would it be if the department sent him on a ‘going away’ trip,” Agoot said. “It was only a thought, I never would of expected Ramona to pull this off.”
Getting the money to pay for the trip was easier than expected according to Ilea.
She said that after spreading the word to the Philosophy Club and other faculty members, everyone started to chip in and fundraise for Boersema’s retirement voyage on the Starship Enterprise.
“It was amazing to see everyone work together on this project and we were so thrilled to tell Dave,” Ilea said. “Dave deserves this trip and it wouldn’t be a legit experience on the Enterprise without the original Captain Kirk, actor William Shatner.”
Contacting Shatner was Agoot’s idea. Through her attendance at Comic-Con in Portland, Agoot took a fan-girl picture with Shatner and did not leave his presence until he agreed on this trip with Boersema.
“I thought he would of kept denying my suggestion, but surprisingly it only took three times to ask him before he gave in. I immediately did a fan-girl moment and called Ramona,” Agoot said.
Boersema, his wife and Shatner will embark on their voyage on the Enterprise June 1.
“I can’t wait to go on this trip and show William that I am a better captain than him,” Boersema joked. “But seriously, I am so grateful for this trip. I can’t wait to boldly go where no man has gone before and discover new worlds and seek out new life.”
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