’14 Gap Years Reviewed
While most Exeter seniors attend college the fall after graduation, others decide to take a less common path—they spend the academic year exploring their interests through a gap year, and then attend university the following fall.
For many, the decision to take a year off from formal education stems from two reasons: a chance to get involved in an area of interest that one could pursue later in life and an opportunity to relax and explore before embarking on college and adult life.
“I would suggest exploring something that you are particularly interested in and considering a career out of. If you have sort of an idea on what you want to do, and if you have the time to take a gap year, you should try to experience that lifestyle for at least a couple of months.”
Henry Stevens ‘14 is one such student, who said that he wanted some “breathing time before college.” After taking an ornithology class at Exeter, Stevens found himself enthralled with the subject and wanted to learn more about the area of study before choosing his college path.
During the winter of his gap year Stevens traveled to different areas in Central America, spending five weeks in Honduras and seven in Belize. In both countries he focused on ornithology, especially in Belize, where he worked as a birding intern in the rain forest. As an intern, his duties were to record the different types of species in and around the area and provide descriptions for each species’ preferred habitat.
Stevens was extremely thankful for the opportunities the internship provided him. He described Belize as one of the “highlights” of his gap year, explaining that the trip took him a few steps out of his comfort zone as well as into an entirely new area of the world.
“The work I did really turned me on to this idea of working in ornithology as a career,” Stevens said. “I thoroughly enjoyed the job which I was doing, and just experiencing lots of new things really sparked my interest.”
This fall, Stevens also focused on soccer, another major interest of his. He plans to play soccer at Tufts University next year, and wanted a chance to further improve his skills before attending. He dedicated much of fall playing for a club team called Seacoast United, which participates in the Premier Development League, a well-respected and competitive league.
Similar to Stevens, Charlie Boyd ‘14 also decided to take a gap year before taking classes at Georgetown University in an effort to further explore his intended college major, International Political Economy. According to Boyd, Georgetown University is only “a quick jaunt over the Potomac from the nation’s capital,” giving it a very strong international profile and political ties. Boyd now works at an international firm based in France where he has the opportunity to not only “reawaken his knowledge” of the French language, but also to sample a potential career choice.
One of the most insightful parts of Boyd’s gap year, he explained, has stemmed from the different trips he takes each weekend. Since Boyd is required to work only thirty-five hours a week, each weekend he takes the train to other European cities such as London, Marseille and Milan to experience all that Europe has to offer.
These weekend excursions have provided Boyd with the opportunity to see and learn about what he described as many of the “great-cultural sites of the western-world.” He has traveled and viewed the different paintings, buildings and ruins that have shaped history. Several long train rides have also allowed him to pick up his passion of reading once again, which he had difficulty finding time for during his busy schedule at Exeter.
In addition to the skills he gained through sightseeing, his gap year has also taught him “the things he truly values,” such as his friends he has strenuously kept in touch with, his family 6,000 miles away and even learning itself. He has been thankful for this wonderful opportunity, and now feels more eager heading into his freshman year at Georgetown.
“If that is all that I learn from this year, I could not be more content,” he said. “I now head to Georgetown enthused by and prepared to seize opportunities it presents me as well as placing more value upon my relationships with others.”
Like Boyd, Stevens also feels more motivated to head into the next chapter of his life. He described his gap year as “amazing” for his mental health and would encourage other students to take a year off to explore areas outside of their own typical limits.
“I would suggest exploring something that you are particularly interested in and considering a career out of,” Stevens said. “If you have sort of an idea on what you want to do, and if you have the time to take a gap year, you should try to experience that lifestyle for at least a couple of months.”