Guidance Counselors Should Reconsider the Gap Year By Robin Pendoley Ed.M, originally published on Psychology Today website. Re-published with permission from author. It happened again yesterday. A mother of a gap year student shared — raved, actually — about how important the experience has been for her daughter. She was a strong student in high school, but she didn’t love learning anymore and didn’t have the sense of purpose and direction she was going to need to succeed in college. The gap year program she participated in helped her find a passion for learning and is sending her into higher education knowing…
2021
Letter to GYA Dancers by Dominique Robinson, Director of Pizarts Dance Gap Year When I decided to pursue a career in dance, I wasn’t aware of the many avenues I could explore. In today’s culture we as artists have an unlimited amount of resources that inspire and educate us to absorb, process, and express our individuality. Even so, all the information out there can often paralyze dancers, sending them into a whirlwind of confusion: Where do I fit in? What am I trying to say? How do I brand myself? Why do I need to brand myself? The questions that…
How You Can Practice Sustainability this Earth Day as an Individual or Organization by Louise Crowe, Co-Chair of GYA’s Sustainability Committee As climate change and environmental concerns grow as issues for individuals and organizations, eco-anxiety is on the rise. Many of us want to prioritize sustainability, but how can we each do our part? The Gap Year Association’s Sustainability Committee is working towards creating some useful resources that both individuals and organizations will find useful to start creating a more positive impact. This Earth Day (April 22nd), we want to share some of the tips that you might be…
How to Cultivate Financial Literacy for Your Gap Year By Susan Doktor There’s a light I can see as plainly as the sign on a Waffle House through my bi-focal rearview mirror: I should have learned about money when I was young. I’m not saying I shouldn’t have dabbled in several languages or learned to wield an SLR camera one summer term. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t work at an aquarium during your gap year if marine biology is your passion. However, learning about finances early in life will help you make sense of your paycheck. It will make…
Gap Year Research Consortium at Colorado College by Bob Clagett IMAGE from Colorado College Anyone who has taken a gap year or is somehow connected to the gap year community is familiar with the myriad benefits of doing so. Students who take a gap year between high school and college are almost invariably more mature, more focused, and more likely to take advantage of the full undergraduate experience from the start of their first year. It has also almost become conventional wisdom that doing something different for a semester or a year can be liberating from the lock-step mentality with…
TAKING A GAP YEAR & STARTING A BLOG: THE 2 BEST DECISIONS I EVER MADE by [author] It was January 2020. My friend Caitlyn and I were enjoying a slow morning with a cup of coffee in our little Airbnb on the southern coast of Portugal. Just a few days ago, we had counted down to New Year’s in a crowd of thousands in Avenida dos Aliados in Porto; we then promptly packed up our backpacks and took a bus down to a little town called Lagos for some quiet and beautiful scenery. Although the sunny weather and azure waters…
REFLECTIVE AND ETHICAL LENSES FOR GAP YEAR PHOTOGRAPHY & STORYTELLING by Elizabeth Bezark Photography and storytelling provide meaningful ways to unpack and share what you’ve learned and how you’ve grown through your gap year experience. Now, the questions are: How are you expressing this? What do your images and captions convey about the places you’ve visited and your experiences there? Read on for GYA’s tips for making your digital documentation intentional, ethical, and reflective! Personal & Relational: One of many things that makes a gap year so meaningful is the people you’ll meet on your journey. As you post…