Insetting vs Offsetting Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Daniel Ponce-Taylor Students that participate in gap year programs can emit more CO2 than some of the communities in which they engage emit in an entire year. There is no way around the fact that our field activities emit a lot of carbon when traveling to remote locations. As an industry, we must do something about that! 2020 and 2021 have seen an increase in climate change-related disasters; climate change is real, is here, and it affects all communities, affluent and low-income alike. California saw the largest wildfire season in modern history in…
Applying Gap Year Lessons to Life Post Gap-Year by Eva Walker Not many people are able to really be present in the moments of their lives that matter, the simple ones that actually shape their path. Many people only get to see their growth in an existential rearview mirror, having passed by some of their littlest but most formative turning points without even realizing it. When I set out on my gap year, determined to find out where my need for adventure could take me, I inadvertently learned how to be present in my most important days while they were…
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Gap Year: The Active Learning Process by Elizabeth Bezark Ever since I started curating and editing the GYA blog, the rest of the GYA team has heard time and time again my obsession with the active voice. Action verbs produce strong writing. If my bio on the GYA website didn’t focus on my work in global education and Fair Trade Learning, it would express my strong desire to make the world a better-written place. What does this have to do with experiential education? Keep reading, you’ll see! The terms experiential education, comfort…
Earning College Credit on a Gap Year by Vanessa Zuidema The COVID-19 pandemic served to exacerbate and expose existing fissures in our higher education system. Costs are skyrocketing, while the financial burden on students and recent grads has become overwhelming. In 2020 and 2021, the number of students opting to take a gap year increased significantly compared to previous years. For some this was the chosen path: a journey they planned for some time with family and school counselors. For others, however, it was a default reaction to a year of lockdowns and “zoom school.” A year in which the…
Spain by Train: A Journey Toward Sustainable Experiential Education and Language Learning by Arantxa Lopez My brother Mikel and I founded our language school, ID Languages, in 2014 and we have designed and delivered experiential language programs in Ireland and Spain since. Our focus was always immersive language learning but, after the first few years, we realised that there was so much more to our work: we had built a beautiful international community where our students’ younger siblings, cousins and friends were visiting us on a yearly basis. They established close links with their host families and some of them…
Why Cottonwood Gulch Started a Gap Year Program and What to Consider for Starting Your Own by Tori Baker-White Before we dive into my experience building a gap year program, you should know how I found my way into designing outdoor programs. Long before I began my career as an outdoor educator and program director, experiential education changed my path. I, like many high school students, was trying to figure out what my life would look like. I knew I needed a change and when an admissions representative from Chewonki visited my school and talked about the Maine Coast Semester,…
The Tee on Taking a Gap Year for Golf by Jordan Fuller Many people aren’t ready to commit to over $100,000 in student loans for a degree they’re not sure they want at a college they’re not 100% sure they want to attend. Whether it’s a love of sports and desire to play collegiately (or even professionally), or desire for great life experience, a gap year between high school and college can provide an incredibly effective way to mentally and physically develop. I spent my gap year trying to develop my golf skills to see if I could conceivably go…
My Experience as a Black Participant-Turned-Leader of the Rising Earth Immersion by Psalms White, originally published under the same title on the Eco Institute Blog. Posted with permission from the author. As I do believe in a higher power, it feels like divine intervention that my path has converged with the Eco-Institute’s —a hidden gem just 20 minutes from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I received my undergraduate degree in May of 2020. While I was in college, I had no knowledge this space even existed before my friend Abbey participated in the Eco-Institute’s Rising Earth…
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…
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…