Hitchhiking in a car is one thing, but have you ever heard of hitchhiking on a boat? That’s what sailor Emily Penn did when she was 21 years old while trying to get from England to Australia to pursue a career in architecture. Spoiler alert: she did not become an architect. Instead, she went on to found eXXpedition, a series of all women voyages around the world that raise awareness about ocean pollutants. In particular, they want to get people talking about the unseen, like the toxins in plastic that’s entering the food chain. She’s especially curious about how it will impact female health in particular, and is collaborating with scientists from a variety of organization to study the water samples they’ve collected along the way.