raegeo

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow Kyra Koons.

The first half of my gap year was spent at home in Raleigh, NC, and my first placement was around 6 minutes driving distance from my house at the Habitat for Humanity Raleigh ReStore. I had driven by the ReStore hundreds of times and originally wondered if my work with them would feel too familiar, but I faced new challenges that brought excitement and mystery to each day. My official title was “independent project intern,” but I spent a lot of time working with the volunteer coordinator at the ReStore, Anne, to create plans to build a mission wall. During the brainstorming phase, we floated different options for its design, but the general idea for the wall was to have a set of doors at the front of the ReStore to demonstrate the relationship between shoppers’ dollars spent […]

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow Rose Houck.
      I had been dreaming of moving to Hawaii for my gap year before I had even graduated from High School this spring. After securing independent housing in late October, I finally made the move to Oahu. My placement was volunteering with a nonprofit farm called “Kupa ‘Aina,” which translates to “Indigenous to the land of Hawaii.” As the name suggests, indigenous Hawaiian crops such as Taro leaf varieties and apple bananas are grown on their 5-acre farm. The farm used natural farming techniques, meaning no chemicals were ever sprayed on the crops and the irrigation system was set up to mimic rainfall. I chose to volunteer with the Kupa ‘Aina farm crew because it provided an excellent opportunity for me to learn more about sustainable agriculture and Hawaiian culture simultaneously. The position was amazing because […]

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow Val Orozco.

One of the biggest goals I had for my gap year was to become more independent. Growing up, my family was the center of my life (and still is, to be honest). During senior year, hearing about how my friends were ready to move out and do their own thing, away from their parents made me want to explore my life outside of home too. I just got back to DC from spending almost two months at home for the holidays, and it was so much harder to leave than when I first got here.

I’ve been working at the Youth Leadership Foundation in Washington, DC for about 6 months now. My internship started as supporting the social media team and being a tutor, but it evolved into creating a whole new afterschool program and conference that includes high […]

The following post was written by Global Gap Year Fellow, Ander Naugle.

For some, a Gap Year is a time for self-exploration, developing new skills, and enhancing your passions; however, that doesn’t mean you have to completely pretermit the college experience out of it.

For the first part of my Gap Year, I decided to stay in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Here, I was able to tour UNC for the first time (I joke with a few of my friends sometimes by saying I just did a four-month college tour there), as well as gain an in-depth sense of the ambiance surrounding Chapel Hill/Carrboro. Since I stayed in an apartment that was only a 2-mile bike ride to UNC, and most of the students that were originally on campus for the Fall Semester were sent home because of Covid-19, I was able to gain a unique perspective of what life on […]