Exciting things are going on

First thing’s first.  My last day of class is Thursday, April 28.  Then I will be done college–thank goodness!  I can’t believe I accomplished four years of undergraduate study.  It really blows my mind.  I am presenting my capstone project on Wednesday, April 27 at school and have some neat ideas for my presentation.  I am quite excited and will be very impressed if I am able to make it through these next few days.  However, even though I am finished with school. I am going to continue with this blog because I have grown attached to it and am excited to have more time to spend to it once classes are over.

Second, all of the persona icons are finished and look beautiful.  I will publish future posts for each one.

Third, I developed a survey that was sent to 4000 employers and, as of last night, there were already over 250 responses!  So I will have some great findings for you all to consider.  I am also making great connections to people who filled out the survey.  Future posts will be based around my findings and connections.

Even though I am very busy right now, I just wanted to post an update about how great things are going.  Working on this blog makes me so happy, and while I try to refrain from emoticons on here I think it’s time 😀

Remember when I mentioned personas?

Well I sure do!  It was in my first post.  I am creating personas explaining how a stereotyped person might spend her/his gap year.

The personas I am developing are:

• The Bohemian
• The Advocate
• The Teacher
• The Brain
• The Adventurer
• The Professional
• The Faithful

Each persona will have the following:

• Quotation
• Motivation for taking a gap year
• Interests
• Scenario
• Resources the person might look into to develop her/his gap year plan

These are very stereotyped ideas to get you to start thinking about your gap year in a more focused way.  There will probably be overlap between interviews and personas, so I will try to tag them together.

I am collaborating with a graphic design student, Allison, from my school to develop icons to go with each persona.  I will be adding a page about her on this blog.–she is doing fantastic work.

Interviewing a WWOOF participant.

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) offers volunteers a chance to work on an organic farm to learn about organic growing, country living, and ecologically sound lifestyles.  Volunteers do not pay for their stay and hosts do not pay their volunteers.  It is an exchange of work for knowledge, housing, and accommodations.While it is a worldwide service, each region has its own website.  This means you must join the individual page for the area where you are interested in working.  The websites are networks providing volunteers with opportunities, but the volunteer must contact and make arrangements with the farm.    A small fee is required to join each WWOOF network, but judging that the fee for WWOOF-USA is $30, it can be a general assumption that none of the sites charge a substantial fee.

I had the opportunity to interview Ray Fallon, 23, who graduated from TCNJ in 2009 and is currently volunteering through WWOOF.  He explains how he chose to spend time with WWOOF and what he plans to do with his experience:

Above: Ray with a cow.

Describe what you are doing during your gap year (location, a day in the life, etc.)

I am traveling to different farms for different time periods.  I learn what they do at the farm, how to do it, and a lot of different things: how to sustain yourself, living off food you grow, how to profit from the work.  I have been on a farm in Spring Mills, PA for a little over 2 weeks now, with one more week to go.  Soon I will be going to Europe for a month to travel and I will be Couch Surfing, then spending 2 months doing WWOOF in Germany.  I had to sign up separately with the German website and pay a separate registration fee.

Why did you choose WWOOF?

In the future, I want to be a farmer.   I thought for a while I would like to either be a farmer or an actor.  I didn’t go to school for farming and didn’t know much about it, so this was an opportunity for free education and practice.  This is also a chance for me to figure out whether farming is something I want to do long-term.  I heard about WWOOF through word of mouth, maybe years ago from my brother .

How do you finance your time with WWOOF?

Food and housing is covered by the farms I work for.  This works by communicating with the farm you’re going to work for and coming to an agreement.  Sometimes more experienced workers or people staying for longer periods of time might agree to being paid a stipend, and while that might happen, it is not standard.  To contrast, if someone wants to stay but there is not a lot of work to be done then the host may want payment for housing.  It really varies by case.

There is a minimal registration fee; I think $25 for the U.S. and maybe $30 for Germany.  I have some expenses like going out or if I want to buy something, but I use my savings for that.  I worked for a year straight after college, so I lived modestly and saved as much as possible.  I knew I would have to provide for myself if I was acting and definitely for my trip through Europe, which I planned to take either way.

What is a memorable experience you have had so far?

Well, one day which was pretty funny, on another farm, I had to milk a goat, wrestle another goat, and carry the other goat.  I was giving water to the goats and cows, and the goats got out.  I carried the female goat, but the billy goat put up a fight and tried to charge and buck.

How do you think you will benefit when you are finished?

There are a lot of benefits.  The knowledge from each farm is different because they raise different crops and use different techniques.  I also learned networking is surprisingly important in farming.  The lady I’m working with now works with some sort of PA organic certification board.  She has a large network of farmers she’s in constant contact with, and I got to go with her to different types of meetings.  One girl I met helps people get into new farms, and she told me about different programs of people who aren’t farmers but what to try to do something like a work-study.

What are some final suggestions or reminders you would give to someone interested in WWOOF?

It really is a case-by-case sort of thing.  It’s worth trying if you’re at all interested because you can just try it for as little as 4 or 5 days and decide if you want to keep going, or if it doesn’t appeal at all you can stop.

How does one embed a Prezi on WordPress?

It’s interesting how some things still are not compatible.  Apparently Prezis are not able to be embedded in a wordpress.com blog.  However, it does sound like there are ways around it.  Unfortunately, I am not savvy with code and websites and things like that.  If anyone can help me out, please let me know.

I spent way too much time making this Prezi, but I am very pleased with the final result.  I made the Prezi, started over, changed things, got frustrated, took a break.  Today I revised my concept, got frustrated again, finished.  Then I got VERY frustrated trying to figure out how to embed the Prezi in this post.

So instead, here is a snapshot of the first section linked to the Prezi titled How to gather funds for gap year.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the time

The funny thing is, I have a ton of stuff to put up here.  However, I am working on making an amazing Prezi about how to gather money for your trip.  I spent a few hours on the Prezi yesterday, then my hand started to hurt.  I decided to check out some other popular Prezis on the site, and it re-inspired me to look for help from the book The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam.  By the end of the day, I will have a cute and silly Prezi for you all to watch and learn from….PROMISE.

In the meantime, why not check out Idealist.org for ways to get involved in meaningful initiatives.  OR look at this cute photo of me at Legoland in Denmark during my study abroad.

An interview with a City Year participant.

Before I post the interview, I want to share an article I found through the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The article is from the Fall 2009 issue of Occupational Outlook Quarterly.  I think this is a very valuable article because it helps the reader consider pros and cons of taking a gap year.  It also provides really good advice such as: if considering graduate school, take the GRE before leaving undergraduate studies, apply to grad programs, get accepted, then ask for a 1-year deferment.  The last two pages offer great resources to look at when considering a gap year.

The article above mentions the AmeriCorps program City Year.  To segue into the interview, City Year is a program that gives young people the opportunity to work full-time in schools and neighborhoods across the country to tutor, mentor, and be role-models for students.  Jeffrey Sierra, 23, is a Philadelphia University 2010 graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology.  In the following interview, Jeffrey explains what he does and why he chose to serve his time after college with City Year.

Jeffrey Sierra at his May 16, 2010 graduation in Philadelphia, PA (photo on left).  Jeffrey Sierra     with the Bakersville Whole School Whole Child City Year New Hampshire Team (photo above).

Describe what you are doing during your gap year (where you are, what you’re doing):

During my gap year I am serving for ten months with an Americorps program called City Year. I am serving at the New Hampshire site. City Year New Hampshire is partnered with five elementary schools in Manchester, NH. There is also a weekend service program called Young Heroes that engages middle school aged youth in relevant social issues.

I serve Monday through Friday in a third grade classroom. I support my students with their academics during the day, I assist them with homework help after school, and I also run a cooking enrichment class once a week.

Why did you choose City Year?

I chose City Year because I did not want to pursue a graduate degree right after my senior year at Philadelphia University. I applied first to the Peace Corps, but was not a competitive enough applicant. Wanting to give a year back, I decided to turn my attention from international service to domestic service. I applied to a few Americorps programs but after being contacted by City Year New Hampshire’s recruitment director, I felt City Year would be the best fit for me.

Why did you want to take time to do this?

I wanted to take the time to give back because I feel it’s the right thing to do. I’ve found since working with City Year that I receive such a simple joy by being able to serve my students in class and see them overcome their difficulties.

How do you get funds for living expenses? Do you get paid or receive a stipend?

I receive a stipend to cover most of my living expenses. I also qualify for government assistance in the form of food stamps and that helps out immensely.

Do you have to pay fees to be involved in City Year?

No, there are no fees associated with City Year.

What is a memorable experience you have had so far?

My most memorable experience has been making gingerbread houses with my students right before their December break. It was so much fun seeing my students shine in a different way. Their creativity and energy was very inspiring.

The Bureau for Labor Statistics is keeping an eye on us….

….and I am worried about the repetitiveness of our days.  It’s time for something different.  In case you don’t know what you’ve been up to, why not take a look?

How come the terms adventure, fun, or new experiences are not included on that pie chart?  It’s easy to fall into a routine with school, especially after going for so many years and it being all we might know.  However, you do have the option after graduation to take some time off, do something exciting and unfamiliar, and take a gap year.  Continue to follow along as I explore specific programs that follow the definition of the gap year:  a planned period of time to do something meaningful and different from the mundane routine of life.

I hope you look forward to the first interview I will post tomorrow.  I sure am excited for that.  The interview was done with Jeffrey Sierra, who is serving with AmeriCorps program City Year.  Check back to learn about his experience.

Let’s see what Google has to say…

The internet can be overwhelming.  There is a lot of information out there….maybe even too much information.  This can be seen as a good or bad thing.  It is good to know when searching for “gap year” there will be a lot of results and helpful information.  A negative, however, is not knowing what information is valid or if it applies to you.  I must reiterate that gap year experiences vary and are unique to the individual, so there are endless opportunities out there.

In this post, I’m going to try to explain the difference between promotional gap year database sites and actual program sites.  This post will also give you a few starting points for your gap year searches.

Here are four database websites directing to other programs.  By the way, there are so many more out there.

http://www.usagapyearfairs.org/

http://www.i-to-i.com/

http://www.gapyear.com/

http://backdoorjobs.com/

Many of these programs promote gap year opportunities and programs, but are not the actual program you will be working with.  It is more like a compiled database of programs and the website is trying to help you choose.  Typically these websites link to actual programs.  Some of these database websites offer searches for specific countries, time spans, and price ranges.  The way the websites are laid out can help you develop an idea of what you want to do and where you want to go.  These are a starting point.  Make sure to double check everything when looking at these websites.  Go to the actual program websites and see what they’re really about instead of just accepting what the database website has told you.  Promotional gap year database sites offer additional FAQ to answer some questions you might have or help you generate new questions you want answered.

It is hard to determine a few things when looking at these database sites:

1. Age restriction.  I’m trying to gear this blog toward people who have finished a 4-year undergraduate study (although I’m sure people from any walk of life will find valuable information on here).  Some programs have age restrictions, while others do not, but normally deep searching needs to be done to find this information.
2. Country base.  The term gap year is not as common in the U.S. as it is in the UK or some other parts of the world.  Many websites and programs are based out of and geared toward students in the UK, but oftentimes students from other countries can participate, too.  I tried to find sites meant for students from the U.S. because I want to spread the idea of gap years for people in the states.
3. Cost of programs.  It is inevitable that you will need money.  If not for travel expenses, rent, or food, then at least for other living expenses like toiletries or going out to have cool experiences once in a while—just like regular life!  Some programs give a stipend, some give pay checks, and others provide free housing and food.  To find out how much a program costs, if there is pay, and what sort of accommodations need to be made you need to research the program as much as possible.  Don’t worry, I have a post coming up about how to raise funds.

That is my attempt at explaining the database-type websites about gap year.  To contrast, here are actual program websites.  Again, there are plenty more out there:

http://www.gviusa.com/about-us/careers-at-gvi

http://www.peacecorps.gov/

http://www.bunac.org/usa/

http://www.wwoof.org/

 

Now, keep in mind the term “gap year” is not necessarily associated with the programs listed above.  However, the work or programs do follow the definition of what a gap year is: a planned period of time in your life doing something different from your everyday experience.  As you continue to follow this blog, I will go into more depth about specific programs that are available, such as WWOOF, City Year, etc.

My personal favorites that I have found so far and will probably use or apply to are Backdoojobs.com and BUNAC.  I will keep you updated when I apply and how it all works out.

*ALSO*

If anyone reading this has had experience with any of these websites or programs, please feel free to comment about how it went.  I’d like to hear your input and enhance the validity of some programs and websites out there about gap year.

 

Allow me to welcome you to my capstone project.

Blog about gap year options for people who have completed their undergrad?  Fantastic idea!  Use it to fulfill a course requirement?  Even better!  Don’t mind if I do…

Wait a second.  What is a gap year?  The term gap year started in the UK and typically occurred for students between highschool and college.  Now a gap year can be used between any schooling or job and does not necessarily have to be a whole year.  It can be used between:

• Highschool and college
• Undergraduate and graduate school
• Undergraduate and the professional world
• Jobs or careers
• Pretty much any transitional period

Or it can even be used as a break during schooling or a job.  The time frame of a gap year now ranges from three months to two years.  Many different things can happen during a gap year, but an essential to keep in mind is that it should be well thought out.  It is not a time to do nothing.  Instead, it is a time to take a break from the everyday and mundane to do something meaningful.  Hopefully you will plan ahead of time how to spin your gap  year into something that can be used on your resume or grad school applications.

There are no promises what you will do on your gap year.  However, you will probably either work, volunteer, or intern and need some sort of funds for a program or regular living expenses.  You might stay in your local area, go to another part of the United States, or to a whole different part of the world.  That’s really up to you.  I’m just here to give you some options and know what to look for.

What I promise to give you is:

• Resources: Different programs and websites that can help you start your search.
• Research: Probably some boring stuff that might actually seem interesting if you think about it hard enough.
• Interviews: I realized I know some people who have done gap years.  I’ll interview them and let you read/watch it.
• Personas: How different (stereo)types might spend their gap year.
• Other stuff….that I haven’t thought about….yet.

So join me as I supply you with information to help you consider and plan out a gap year.  It definitely won’t be the biggest waste of your time (ahem, Facebook).