Gap Year Opportunities Around the Globe with Thinking Beyond Borders

Just one piece?! There's so much! Well, I think it helped me a lot to read the student blogs prior to the trip and connect with alum. I think it was a big advantage to my personal journey that I knew what I was getting into and had expectations for what was ahead of me. I knew the connections, community, and change work students before me had found, so I knew to take advantage of the opportunities TBB provided us.

With this in mind, I would also say get close to your program leaders! It is in an extraordinary gift, having three incredible, beautiful, dedicated, loving mentors who can help guide you through the challenging and transformative pieces of your Global Gap Year.

My favorite story? Well, I have funny stories, sentimental stories, humorously tragic stories. But I suppose for this interview, one of my favorite stories to tell was actually told to me by one of my best friends, Aaron.

In Ecuador, which was our first country, we were living with the indigenous Tsa'Chilla tribe in Bua, Ecuador (close to the city of Santo Domingo). Like most of us, their second language was also Spanish, so it made communication that much harder. One morning, Aaron was at breakfast alone with his host father, Fausto - the community shaman.

Attempting to make conversation, Aaron picked up the jam from the table, which was branded "Snob," and proceeded to inform Fausto that in English, "snob" means "un person estúpido con mucho dinero" ("a stupid person with a lot of money"). Hearing this and not fully understanding Aaron's attempt at Spanish, Fausto nodded and silently removed the jam from the table. The jam was never seen again.

I love this story firstly because I find it absolutely hilarious, especially knowing Aaron and Fausto as people. Two pretty eccentric dudes.

These lessons in love and community continues to guide me over a year later.

If you want to be radically transformed and guided into becoming the person you were meant to be, take a gap year with Thinking Beyond Borders. This program is not for everyone, but those who do it learn to love radically and question intensely.

I truly learned what love looks like on TBB. I learned how to love myself and how to love others. I developed the capacity for higher order empathy and for honest forgiveness. I discovered an ability to challenge my assumptions and look inward. Beautifully, I have come into college with a sense of self, which most of my peers cannot say. TBB helped me develop my own set of values; I am who I am because of TBB.

At 17, 18, 19 you are at a critical junction in your life with so many options ahead of you. I hope everyone has a chance to experience the kind of love I found on TBB.

Absolutely. Throughout my time with TBB, my view of how to create change in this world shifted. I knew that education was a key mechanism in creating change, but as we learned and discussed education as part of the TBB curriculum, I realized that education can still be quite oppressive, and true liberation, an essential part of peace and justice, can only come from a liberating pedagogy where truth is something co-created by teachers and students and is forever and always changing to the current context of the world and our lives.

I think TBB deeply understands the potential for negative impact involved with international travel and has structured its programs accordingly to maximize learning and minimize negative impact.

This filters into the curriculum in deep and beautiful ways, and thus into the students, and because of this, I believe it brings the potential for humanizing relationships - what should be a key part of all international travel.

It's beautiful to see the transformation that occurs in the students from the time they enter the program to the time they leave. Even more beautiful is when I get to witness the continued transformation as they bring back their learnings to their home country and communities. As a long traveler and global learner, I know that this return and reintegration is often where the hard work exists. Some of the best stories I've heard from return students are often some of the most painful conversations I have. The deep questioning that the students have learned on the trip often makes it difficult to reintegrate into their former social circles. Stepping into college, I find some students with one foot in one foot out of this society, not really sure about how to make sense of the world anymore. Although it is difficult for them, it is inspiring to see, and I know that the hardship is all part of a longer journey that will eventually lead to immense internal growth and societal transformation.