Writer Claire Convis and her friend Louisa took a gap year after high school to teach elementary students in Mexico. Claire Convis | Washtenaw Voice
By Claire Convis
Staff Writer
When my best friend Louisa graduated from high school, she and I bought plane tickets to Hidalgo, Mexico and left to help teach English at an elementary school.
We spent a year putting on school programs and events, reading story books, making crafts with sticky-handed four-year-olds, and meeting Louisa’s extended family.
I learned, felt, saw, touched, tasted, heard and experienced so much during that year. My Spanish-speaking skills increased, I gained a whole new family, and I knew for sure that I wanted to major in elementary education.
One of the reasons that many students are hesitant to take a year off of school is that they feel that the rest of the world will move on without them, but that is just not the case.
Just one semester, summer or year spent taking a break from midterm exams and portfolios can really have a positive impact on a person’s life, and it doesn’t have to be a setback.
Taking a gap year doesn’t mean that a student stops learning, studying or growing; rather, it has the potential to encourage a healthy, unconventional approach to living one’s life before a college degree is tucked under their belt.
Professional counselor Arnett Chisholm has worked at WCC for more than 30 years. Chisholm said that community college can be a good bridge between high school and choosing a lifelong career.
Students can save money and also get to know their professors better due to smaller class sizes, whereas at a four-year university lecture halls may contain several hundred people, Chisholm said.
Chisholm said that taking time off to travel can benefit students by allowing them to explore other cultures or learn skills that will assist them in college.
“That’s something that I would support,” Chisholm said. “Sometimes students aren’t ready to start [college] right away… they want to do some of those things that are on their bucket list.”
There are countless reasons why taking a gap year could be a smart choice for young adults; students struggling to pay for college could significantly benefit from a gap year as it provides a chance to work more, save up and be more prepared for college expenses.
My close friend took a year off of school so that she could save up money, and she was promoted to a manager position at her job.
“Sometimes you get burned out because you’re working and trying to go to school and trying to pay the bills,” Chisholm said. A break can allow you to save up and rejuvenate before you come back to school, but Chisholm advises students to have a plan to return to school when they are able to.
Many people have used a gap year as a way to learn another language, write a book, pick up a hobby, or create art.
Lin-Manuel Miranda was vacationing at the beach when he read the biography of Alexander Hamilton, which inspired him to write the phenomenal Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
The author of “Harry Potter,” J. K. Rowling, spent a few years living abroad in Portugal and teaching English as a second language. Rowling wrote portions of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” during her time spent in Portugal.
Malia Obama spent her first year out of high school immersing herself in the Spanish language in Peru and Bolivia.
More students should consider some time off between high school and college—or even after starting college. It’s common for students to take a year off between their bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but students may not consider taking a year off after high school to get their life goals in order; instead, students are swept along in the strong current that carries them to college mere months from stepping out of the school where they dissected frogs and had to use a bathroom pass.
According to the US Department of Education, 35% of students enrolled in STEM programs (Science, Technical, Engineering, Mathematics) changed their majors, and 29% of students in non-STEM programs did the same. Perhaps students entering college would have a much better idea of what they wanted to pursue in life if they were encouraged to take a semester or two off to first consider it, and gain experience—through an internship or entry-level job—in the field in which they’re interested.
“Taking a break is good for some students,” Chishom said.
Students who take some time off of school to do entry-level work may be even more inspired to go back to school to get a higher education, he said.
The possibilities of a gap year are numerous: students have more free time to have a healthy social life, pick up a hobby, save money and cross items off of their bucket list.
Students can go somewhere they’ve always wanted to go, explore different types of careers, read, rock climb or make music. I had the experience of a lifetime in Mexico, and I wouldn’t trade my gap year for all the college credits in the world.
