10 Ways to Maximize Learning On Your Gap Year by Megan Lee Every morning on your Gap Year, you’ll need to wake up and renew your commitment to maximizing your learning potential every day. Now, this is no easy feat. Some days, staying in bed and escaping reality will seem like the more attractive option. But don’t fall victim to Gap Year learning exhaustion, which includes side effects that make you think sitting in your room all day on your laptop is an appropriate way to spend your time. Here are a few things you can do every day to…
Learning & Reflection
What Does Responsible International Volunteering Look Like? by Annie Wendel Record numbers of students are choosing to study, travel, and serve abroad through Gap Year organizations, alternative break programs, and tour agencies. Voluntourism, volunteering and traveling at the same time, has become a popular rite of passage for high school and college-aged students. As a former study abroad participant and international volunteer, I can vouch for the personal, professional, and academic benefits of these intercultural immersion and exchange programs. These programs supplement classroom lessons through experiential learning opportunities and build student global awareness. My personal experiences have also made me…
Healthy Ways To Deal With Homesickness On Your Gap Year by Megan Lee Homesickness might be a new phenomenon for you if you never did the whole sleep-away camp thing in your younger years, but it’s inevitable. It’ll sneak up on you when you least suspect it: a photo shared online of your friends back home at one of your favorite annual events, a familiar smell of homemade cooking, the softness of a couch. The lack of a couch. The lack of one-course meals or even silent meals. Homesickness crops up in all shapes and sizes. It may be hard…
On Raising the Bar for Service Learning An interview with Willy Oppenheim, Founder of Omprakash One of the presentations I attended at the GYA Annual Conference in Boston was on Service Learning, presented by Willy Oppenheim of Omprakash. His reputation as a powerhouse presenter, a passionate humanitarian and an adventurer extraordinaire preceded him. I was not disappointed. I walked away from his presentation inspired and grateful that someone was standing up to say the hard things and encourage the community towards a higher standard across the board. Service learning is a sticky subject in the gap year world and there…