A break from school may refresh a student’s mind
“I was tense around finals,” she recalled.
Returning after break to finish her senior year at St. Teresa’s Academy, Taylor said she did not feel rested, and getting through second semester seemed “more like endurance.”
The Kansas City, North, teen was a good student. With the added heft of honors classes, Taylor held a 4.2 grade-point average. She was president of the photography club, co-editor of the literary magazine and a National Merit Scholarship finalist. She also was involved in several other school organizations and volunteered regularly at Maple Valley State School.
But she had reached the saturation level on stress: “I was burnt out on school.”
Rather than heading straight to Boston College, where she had been accepted, Taylor decided to take a year off after high school graduation.
Call it Taylor’s gap year.
“In Europe, 10 to 20 percent of high school students take a gap year,” said Steph Hart, independent college consultant with Essential Elements: Comprehensive College Planning in Kansas City, North. Hart worked with Taylor on plans for her gap year that included a deferred admission to Boston College.
The gap year trend has been gaining momentum in the United States the last five years, Hart said, and is driven this year in part by students who are setting studies aside to volunteer on presidential campaigns.
Voluntarism and community activism, along with burnout, are among the reasons students are choosing gap years. Finances, the job market, family obligations or a desire to travel also play a role in the decision.
“The gap year is not about being a slug on the couch for a year,” Hart said.
A year off should be a release from academic pressure so students can do some self-exploration and return to the classroom refreshed, renewed and ready to be educated, Hart said. High-achieving students like Taylor can benefit from a year off to rediscover the joy of learning for the sake of learning rather than for a grade.
During her gap year, Taylor spent more than two months with an aunt in Bavaria, where she took German language classes.
“It was not stressful,” said Taylor, 19. “The class wasn’t on my transcript. I took it for my own personal enrichment.”
When she returned to the Northland, Taylor landed a retail job and read every history book in the house — at least 100. Her father majored in history in college, and Taylor plans to follow in his steps.
As Taylor packed her bags for Boston College last month, she said the gap year travel and work experience had helped her mature, become more independent and learn to be more in charge of her own schedule.
Breaking during college
It isn’t just recent high school graduates who are taking breaks in their education. College students, too, often suffer from overload.
“Many students are so overextended during their college years with classes, internships, part-time or even full-time jobs as well as family obligations that they are stretched too thin to think about life after college until they get there,” said Linda Garlinger, director of career development at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.
Sometimes a break to decompress is all the student needs to think clearly, she said. For some, summer may be enough time to refuel before they begin a job search in the fall.
Taking time off between completing an associate degree and starting a bachelor’s degree helped Ashley Iglehart of Blue Springs focus on her education and boosted her self-esteem.
After high school graduation in 2005, Iglehart spent a year at Northwest Missouri State University and transferred those credits to Metropolitan Community College, where she earned an associate degree of arts in December 2006.
With her core classes out of the way, Iglehart then needed to decide which direction to head with her education. She chose a detour. In January 2007, Iglehart drove to Orlando, Fla., to begin an internship with Walt Disney World Resort as part of the Disney College Program. She was paid $6.67 an hour to work at the front desk of a resort for seven months.
“It was a well-needed break from pressure — I had a blast,” she said.
Iglehart paid $85 a week in rent to share an apartment with three other women and had food, gas and other living expenses. When she wasn’t working, Iglehart toured the theme parks and other places in Florida.
When she was working, “I was checking in guests from all over the world,” she said. “I learned that I was good at interacting with people.”
She also learned that she didn’t want to make $6.67 an hour for the rest of her life.
“It brought reality back into check,” she said.
In August 2007, Iglehart began taking classes online at DeVry University. She plans to graduate in February with a bachelor of science in business administration.
Gains, losses
One of the advantages of a gap year is finding out what you don’t want to do, said Nancy Silverforb, counselor at Basehor-Linwood High School.
“When you’re exposed to the world of work, you may find that a job is more dead-end than it seemed at the time,” she said.
For students who don’t have a clear idea about their future, getting a job after graduation gives them time to think about what they want to do and to save money to help finance their education, Silverforb said.
Garlinger, of Missouri Western, said she “would prefer to see someone take a gap year and be able to make a good decision rather than seeing someone who makes a bad decision and winds up a year later in the wrong place.”
Even though a gap year may mean students delay their progress by a calendar year, they may end up making clear-headed choices that lead directly to a degree without wasting time and money changing majors or schools.
The danger is that once in a job, students may be reluctant to give up steady income to go back to school or may become so comfortable that they don’t stretch themselves to try something new, Silverforb said.
Preparing for a gap year, especially if family resources are involved, is important, said Sharon Lockhart, a certified financial planner with Raymond James Financial Services Inc. in Prairie Village.
“A good relationship with parents, as well as motivation, commitment and planning, are essential for taking time off,” Lockhart said.
Racing can’t wait
As a third-generation race car driver, Zachary Goulden had the family support to explore a racing career.
So Goulden, 19, of Gladstone, decided to delay a decision about higher education after graduating from Oak Park High School in 2007.
“Right now is the age and the time to make it or break it,” said Bobby Goulden, his father. “The time to get noticed is when you’re 18 to 22 years old.”
Zachary Goulden has been racing sprint cars for three years.
“It’s a hobby that I’m wanting to turn it into a career,” Goulden said.
Hitting a wall at 120 mph and flipping his car four times at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., in August sent Goulden to North Kansas City Hospital with temporary vision loss and a concussion. But it didn’t deter him. Spills go with the territory.
“If you’re going to race, you’re going to blow motors, crash and spend money,” his father said.
Racing is expensive. For example, a new 410-cubic-inch engine — the largest size allowed for Goulden’s sprint car — costs about $30,000.
Goulden averages 20 to 30 hours a week working on the car or racing in addition to holding a full-time job on a receiving dock. He funds his racing through sponsorships, prize money and his job. Living at home helps cut costs.
He hasn’t ruled out college but gives himself another year of racing before making a decision.
Is he on the right track? Time will tell.
Even if he doesn’t earn a college degree, Goulden is considering taking online business classes. “All racing is about marketing,” he said.
Drivers need to be able to promote themselves, be articulate and persuade potential sponsors to support them.
What Goulden and other gap kids gain — hopefully — by not rushing directly to college after high school is maturity, self-confidence and a clearer focus on the future. Many students find they are better able to choose career or college paths that match their long-term goals.
“They seem to have a better understanding of what they want to do and where they want to be,” Garlinger said.
Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley College
www.lesley.edu/gsass/audubon/ gapyear.html
A program for those interested in field-based environmental education.
Center for Interim Programs
A consulting service that helps young people find gap-year programs that match their interests.
City Year
A nonprofit that brings together young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service as tutors, mentors and role models.
Disney College Program
Paid internships at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., and at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.
Taking Off
Service organization that helps students plan for time off to pursue interests and goals.
Where There Be Dragons
Overseas experiential educational programs in small-group settings.
World Hunger Year
Unpaid internships and other opportunities working in organizations that address food, nutrition and agriculture issues.
“Also, a timeline should be established and a date set for the contract to end,” she said.
For students taking time off without a goal in mind, parents should consider requiring the child to perform community service.
“Not only will students gain valuable work experience, but they also will be able to make wiser choices when selecting a major,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart cautioned students planning to sit out a year before enrolling in college that their status for federal financial aid may change because completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid will also be delayed a year. “Income earned during the gap year will be credited to the student and may affect the amount of aid received,” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment