Stories

Lauren Rhode is currently on a gap year between high school and starting college in fall 2008 at Princeton University. She spent the first three months of her gap year last fall in Morocco with Global Learning Across Borders (Global LAB), a non-profit that runs international immersion gap year programs. Lauren's gap year experience living with a Moroccan family and learning Arabic, working on community service projects, and traveling to Marrakesh and the Sahara desert have given her time to explore her interests and passions without being burdened by assigned curriculum . Lauren says of her gap year...

Tom Griffiths, Founder of UK based Gapyear.com, the most frequently visited on-line resource for gap year in the world, was quoted last week in an article (picked up on Planet Gap Year's news feed): College can wait awhile- 'Gap year' catches on with students who want to gain life experience after high school , by G. Jeffrey MacDonald in a special for USA Today. Here Griffiths speaks about the U.S. market.

"The U.S. is viewed in our sector as the sleeping giant, with the potential to surpass the rest of the world in numbers and possibly spending within the next five years."

Jeff joined the Up with People program based out of Denver, Colorado, on a six month multicultural education program in 2007 traveling to seven countries and twenty cities learning global citizenship and gaining in depth cross-cultural understanding. Jeff says of his gap year experience, "I learned more about the world than I ever could have learned reading a book." Jeff's story below is an exceptional testimony about the personal impact and benefits of international travel and cultural immersion as part of a structured gap year experience before college. See link to Up with People at end of article.

The Journey of a Lifetime

Eitan is student at George Washington University majoring in History and Political Science. His gap year in Israel in 2006-2007 involved cultural immersion and study at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has contributed his story to inspire others to consider the benefits of a gap year before college.

Katie is a senior at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. Katie's gap year experience during spring semester 2007 involved study abroad and cultural immersion in South Africa through the School for International Training. She took classes in Zulu language, public health, and participated in a homestay with a Zulu family in Cato Township outside Durban. The last month of her semester was spent conducting independent research of emergency health services to rural communities. Following is a Q and A session I had with Katie about her unique study abroad experience. Katie also contributed a few paragraphs that testify to the powerful impact a cultural immersion can make on young person's life!

Q: Why did you decide to take this unique study abroad experience?

A: I decided to study in South Africa because I knew I wanted a completely different cultural experience. I wanted to be immersed in a culture that was 100% different from mine, and I was interested in African culture. I wanted to be challenged.

Q: Why did you choose this particular program with the School for International Training?

The Planet Gap Year News-USA Feed picked up an article two days ago titled RRCC students named to all Colorado academic team.

The story was about a student at Red Rocks Community College in Colorado named Kayla Jensen who was chosen as a 2008 nominee for the All-USA Academic Team, which recognizes outstanding students at two-year colleges around the country. It just so happens Kayla took a gap year before college with AmeriCorps.

According to a New York Times article published Feb 19, 2008 by Karen W. Arenson titled Princeton Plans for an Early Year Abroad, incoming students will be given the option of a year of social service overseas before stepping onto campus. Princeton’s president, Shirley M. Tilghman was quoted in the article as saying “Such a program would give students a more international perspective, add to their maturity and give them a break from academic pressures.” Details of the program and costs have yet to be finalized, but it is estimated that ten percent of the incoming class will choose to participate. Princeton’s decision is significant and will impact the gap year movement in the US.

The US Gap Year: Possible Response from Higher Ed Institutions

Ben Casnocha, a student at Claremont McKenna College, was recently asked to weigh in on our site about his own a gap year experience. He happily obliged, and provided the following 'thoughts' about his gap year experience. Ben has helped popularize the gap year concept in the US with his Gap Year Travel Blog. He is also an entrepreneur and author.

Eldora Mountain Resort is located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains near the historic mountain town of Nederland, 21 miles northwest of the city of Boulder, home to the University of Colorado. Eldora attracts students from around the globe seeking ski resort work during time out from university studies. I recently interviewed two students, one from Brazil, and one from South Africa, who opted to work at Eldora and travel in the US. Emma and Estevao discussed their reasons for choosing Eldora and how they obtained work visas. Note: The student exchange organizations that provided their visas also assist US students wishing to work, volunteer and travel overseas.

Ally spent her gap year interning as a field assistant with a scientific organization and working in her father's stone masonry business. She graduated from Nederland High School in Colorado in 2006, a year early. She is a freshman at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, majoring in Geology. Read Ally's Blog about her amazing gap year adventure in Alaska, and learn about unique research internship and job opportunities in the solid earth sciences at UNAVCO and it's partner organizations.