Gap Year Programs

International Volunteer HQ – The Trusted Volunteer Organization for Gap Year Travellers.

International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) provides volunteering placements in over 18 countries around the world. Based on the concept that volunteer travel should be affordable, IVHQ has established itself as one of the world’s leading volunteer organizations. In the past 4 years they have sent over 14,000 volunteers abroad on their programs and with program fees starting from only US$180 it is no surprise that thousands of students are choosing IVHQ as their organization to volunteer abroad with on their gap year.

The Global Gap Year program at UNC Chapel Hill is in its second year. First year students can apply for a fellowship in the amount of $7,500 to be used to help fund a year of service abroad.

This year, UNC will be selecting seven incoming first-year students for a Global Gap Year Fellowship. The fellowship provides $7,500 to each student for use toward a gap year that combines global travel with volunteer service. Current UNC students and the Campus Y help Gap Year Fellows prepare for their year abroad and integrate that experience into their education when they return to campus..follow link to UNC's web site for details on how to apply to the
Global Gap Year Program.

The Wide World of Gap Years

by Robin Pendoley, Co-Founder & CEO of Thinking Beyond Borders

Exploring gap year options is not always an easy task. Here are some quick tips to help you find all of the options and begin to narrow them down to the best fit for you.
Where Do I Find Gap Year Options?
Unfortunately, there is no single source for information on every gap year opportunity. However, there are some great places to gather the options:

* Your High School Guidance Counselor – Many guidance counselors encourage students to consider a gap year during the college planning process. Visit your counseling office to ask for brochures and recommendations from the educators you know and trust.

Cambodia Tropical Wildlife Conservation and Adventure project is a Gap Year Program run by UK based Frontier, established in 1989 as a non-profit conservation and development non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem integrity and building sustainable livelihoods for marginalized communities in the world's poorest countries.

Read details below and click this link to visit Frontier for a full list of exceptional Gap Year adventures.

The Cape Eleuthera Institute is a facility that promotes a connection between people and the environment, and offers an 8 week intensive gap year program focusing on leadership, ecology, research and sustainable development. Read more below or visit Cape Eleuthera Institute

During your Gap Year on Eleuthera you will:

- Explore the island of Eleuthera, a beautiful tropical environment
- Achieve Open Water, Advanced and Rescue SCUBA certification
- Participate in hands-on scientific research
- Experience adventure in sea kayaking and camping expeditions
- Develop professional skills in/out of a traditional office
- Learn sustainable farming and animal husbandry skills

Please read 'Gap Year', A Fulfilling Time for High School Graduates published in the Denver Post early this month by Kevin Simpson. Good news, Planet Gap Year is listed as a planning resource in the article! More good news.. 2 admissions directors as well as a college planning consultant based in Denver were interviewed in this article, and explain why they support students taking a gap year between high school and starting college.

Two New England based student gap year programs, Dynamy Internship Year and Thinking Beyond Borders have teamed up to sponsor the 2009-2010 USA Gap Year Fairs. (See schedule below) Last year, 12 fairs attracted nearly 2,000 students, parents and education professionals across the country. The sponsors have added more fairs to connect students and parents across the country with the plethora of private companies and educational non-profits offering "gap years" for young adults who are delaying college entrance.

Was it all a dream…

I woke up this morning to the familiar sounds of my dad watching the news along with the scent of left over coffee my mom tends to leave behind as she rushes off to work. Was it just last week I was standing awestruck in front of the Grand Canyon, watching a purple sunset over the Arizona mountain tops, or perhaps it was just yesterday I was performing in Mexico for hundreds with screaming cheers for “Viva la Gente” in the crowd. Or perhaps, it was all a dream, because there is no way six months could fly by that fast.

We’re going to Camp!

You know that phrase “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Well, we’ve all heard it but this week the world handed our cast a huge batch of lemons. We were told we weren’t going to be able to go to Mexico due to the swine flu. Upsetting, I know. This news was shortly followed by a new travel plan. We were trading in our salsa music for some good old camp fire songs. That’s right. Up With People went to camp. Not just any camp, but a completely hidden away rustic camp up in the valleys of the mountains in Southern California, a place with no cell phone reception, internet, or TV. We had no idea what to expect and I definitely never would have expected my best week in Up with People to have turned out to be a week spent in summer camp.

Perspective. That’s it.

After tripping around the country in a 2009-era equivalent to a hippie bus (the 15 passenger van christened ‘Ste-VAN’), that’s one thing an AmeriCorps member can’t deny acquiring. I’ve written to some length about the various adventures, the various sights, and the various people I’ve met over the course of the past few months.