Gap Year Radio

Joining us today on the pod is Caleb Kyle, who spent last year on a gap year adventuring in the outdoors through New Zealand and Costa Rica. He discusses with us the two programs he participated in, and explains the experience one can have with Outward Bound in Costa Rica. He received numerous useful certifications during the program, and also shares with us the struggles they faced when the pandemic cut their time in Central America short.

Ok, so here's what we know in September of 2020: There are a TON of students taking a gap year this year! And they are finding creative and meaningful ways to spend their year.

We want to help students make the most of their gap year this year- especially if was unexpected. With that in mind, we invited College Success Expert Katy Oliveira to tell us about skill-building.

Katy walks us through the three sets of skills that college students need to be able to thrive on campus and how to build those skills on your gap year.

Find Katy at collegehoodadvice.com or on instagram @collegehoodadvice

Follow Gap Year Radio on instagram @gapyearradio

Today on the pod we are rounding out Season Four of Gap Year Radio with a feature from your cohosts, Margo and Julia. We discuss gap year and college planning in the time of COVID, something we know so many high school seniors are grappling with this year. For the second half of the show you will hear from Drew Beasley, a gap year alumni who started college both with and without gap time, and speaks to the important that time abroad had on his future, and his current work helping to promote the gap year movement.

Joining us on the podcast is Gary Robinson of P3 Mental Health. For the last twenty years Gary has been the Director of Counseling at Hartwick College, and has dedicated himself for over 30 years to helping high school and college-aged students to maximize their potential and overcome barriers to learning. He has also spent a number of years working with various gap year and summer programs for field staff training as well as crisis management consulting while students are in the field. He discusses with us the current mental health climate in regards to COVID-19 as well as suggesting a number of wellness tips to help people through this challenging time.

Franny Eremeeva's political journey started when she received an email from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign asking "Do you want to be a fellow?"

She volunteered and interned on Clinton's presidential campaign during her gap year in addition to traveling to East Africa and Italy. She went on to intern at the Council on Foreign Relations and for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (heard of her?).

Now, she's about to graduate from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in international relations and a fire in her belly to change the world. In this episode of Gap Year Radio, Franny shares her wisdom for how to secure positions with election campaigns and cause-based organizations and how to make the most of the opportunity once you are there.

For more information and resources for how to get involved in Election 2020 as a young person, visit election2020gapyear.com

Gap year alum Ivy Jones spent her gap year expanding her knowledge and experience in environmental sustainability.

She began her year with a Thinking Beyond Borders semester spent in Guatemala and Costa Rica where she learned about education systems, sustainable agriculture and eco-tourism. Inspired by her experience with TBB, she dove deeper into environmental issues with Ecoswell, a grassroots organization based in Peru. There she assisted the organization in projects to support eco-tourism, reforestation and sustainable living. Her gap year informed her course of study at college and changed the ways she lives her daily life in order to have a lighter footprint on the planet.

Find Gap Year Radio on instagram @gapyearradio

Find Thinking Beyond Borders at thinkingbeyondborders.org

Find EcoSwell at ecoswell.org

Find Marion Taylor (gap year counselor) at TaylortheGap.com

Full show notes available at gapyearradiopodcast.com

When disaster strikes, we are all asked to give money to help in the immediate aftermath. But once a disaster zone shifts to a recovery zone, you are also able to donate time and your own sweat. In this episode, we speak with Josiah Johnson and Riley Piva, two incredible gap year alums who dedicated time to disaster recovery with the international relief organization All Hands and Hearts. They open up about the experience volunteering in disaster relief, the mental health benefits of serving others and how you can get involved! 

Visit allhandsandhearts.org for more information about getting involved with their projects.

You can find Gap Year Radio online at gapyearradiopodcast.com or on instagram and facebook @gapyearradio. Drop us a line at [email protected]!

Andrew Buchanan joins us on the pod to discuss the Morehead Cain Scholarship, a program that provides a fully funded four year undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill, as well as offers funding for a gap year. As the first gap year recipient of the scholarship, Andrew discusses with us his travels with his dad and brother, his NOLS course in Patagonia, and then his solo travels throughout Asia.

February is Gap Year Exploration Month! There are so many fun ways to explore the opportunities of the gap year option this month. This episode, we open Season Four by chatting all about Gap Year Exploration Month events happening every day this month!

For more info and events schedule, go to www.gapyearexplorationmonth.com and follow the hashtag #explorethegapyear

Gap Year Radio is running a contest in February to win a copy of The Complete Guide to the Gap Year by Kristin White! Simply follow @gapyearradio on insta and comment on a contest post with #explorethegapyear

Some exciting scholarships and contests going on in Feb:

Gap Year Association Alumni instagram contest ($500)

Gap Year Association Future Gapper Instagram Contest ($500)

USA Gap Year Fairs Ambassador Scholarship ($3000)

Travel Access Project Grant ($3000)

Full details on our show notes at www.gapyearradiopodcast.com

Joining us on the pod is Charlie Taibi, CEO of the gap year program Year On, a three part program that helps students gain the confidence, clarity, and direction they need to succeed in college and beyond. Charlie discusses with us the core principles of the Year On program, how he got to where he is today, and inspires us with his recent working sabbatical. Charlie has big ideas for the future of the gap year and shares his wisdom and dreams with the listeners of the pod.