Gap Year Opportunities Around the Globe with Thinking Beyond Borders

I knew I wanted to do something different on my gap year, though at first the idea of being away from home for 8 months was pretty intimidating. Though I was nervous and unsure of what to expect, I plunged into my Global Gap Year with Thinking Beyond Borders, and I am so glad I did. The program structure is, I believe, a perfect balance between academic, travel, and immersion experiences. Overall, it changed the way I saw the world and has allowed me to make the most of my college experience. I made some of my best friends on this program, as well as some of my dearest memories. One of my favorite things about the program is how the extraordinary becomes ordinary. My routine in Ecuador might include being woken by roosters, breakfasting with my host family, planting trees in the jungle, bathing in the nearby river, relaxing and playing with my host sisters and then settling into a seminar in a straw hut with my fellow students to have critical discussions about water shortages. It is definitely a challenging year, but the process of overcoming the hardships you encounter--the difficult questions, the homesickness, the culture shock--is part of what makes this year so valuable.

Thinking Beyond Borders allows you to connect broad concepts of international development and globalization to specific situations. If you are in a classroom, abstract concepts or even political policies are always some degree removed from reality. TBB is the opposite in that you are learning mainly from your environment, the organizations you work with, the people you get to know. It is a challenging experience to be confronted with gross inequality and your own privilege, to travel in a small group, to be out of your element. But it is worth it for what you learn, question, become. I met some of the most incredible people on TBB, including my best friends.

I was a leader for TBB a few years ago and while I saw a different side of the program than the participants did, I was still a hugely important experience for me and one that still informs many of my decisions and interests currently. I've also led and had experience with a few other student travel organizations and while I know many of them run valuable programs, TBB's are special. Here's a few reasons why:

1) The quality of the program. The program is more than a curriculum, more than an itinerary, more than work projects, more than a set of goals - though all of these things are addressed with such thoroughness and intentionality you'd think there'd have to be a staff of 15 people designing this course and not just the handful of exceptional individuals who do it. The curriculum entails a college-level reading list with accompanying seminars and creative projects that changes the ways students are used to interacting with 'academic' material. Readings can cover both classics and the latest literature on a given problem. Moreover, traveling with laptops, kindles, and academically experienced leaders, the group always has the option of modifying the curriculum to meet student interests or address current issues. The 'work projects' can sometimes seem fruitless to students - as there might not be a new school to marvel at by the end of your stay in wherever - but they are more focused on exploring an issue than they are producing a tangible result. The program is perfect for students who are interested in learning.

2) The comprehensiveness. Virtually nothing is excluded from TBBs scope. Students are given the opportunity to explore every aspect of themselves, internal and external, personal and social, academic and physical, their personalities at work and on vacation. The range of geographic locations (city to forest) also vary widely and students are able to explore across environments and issues - as well as simply experience life abroad in some of its many settings. For example, too often Gap Years feature nothing but the exotic jungle of Bali or wherever, forgetting that the vast majority of people in the world are dealing with issues of urbanization more immediately than they are with issues of the destruction of coral reefs. Not that reefs aren't cool, but you get my point!

3) The change entailed. This program is hard, long, not for the weak or those who just want something - anything - besides school. This means, however, that students can emerge from the program rather differently than they entered. After returning from a summer or even semester abroad, it is easy to fall back into the same habits and worldviews that you had before you left because you didn't spent all that much time breaking or at least reconsidering these assumptions. TBB is long and intensive enough to develop a significant change in personality. I think nearly half the students on our trip changed the university and/or major by the time they finished TBB. The people who come out of this program - students and leaders both - are very different than they people who went in.

The only downside of TBB is the price - though it has dropped significantly in recent years. Moreover, the TBB staff is committed to helping students fundraise for their own trip - a valuable skill to acquire at such a young age. This should also help attract a great diversity of participants, which would also benefit the program greatly.

From it's own side, TBB is an incredible program deserving of almost any student. A better question to ask yourself is: are you deserving of TBB?

Though I graduated from Thinking Beyond Borders a few years ago, the lessons and experiences from the program affect how I think and interact with the world every day. We were constantly challenged by the program leaders, content, and projects to question our selves, our place in the world, and our understanding of development. I don't feel that I can speak to the specifics of daily life during the program, because TBB has evolved a lot over the past few years, but I can definitely vouch for the integrity, intelligence, and compassion of the staff and the quality of the curriculum.

It was the most amazing experience to be able to combine travel and learning in such a way. The home stays can be hard but also some of the most rewarding parts of the experience. Ecuador was my favorite part of the whole trip. The tree planting project makes you feel like you are really making a difference. South Africa is also an amazing part of the trip very demanding emotionally but extremely rewarding.

My experience with Thinking Beyond Borders was amazing. From bathing in a river in the ecuadorian jungle or shadowing health care workers in South Africa, it taught me about the world, myself and how we both work together and make it a better place.

TBB enriched my college experience (and my life more generally) in more ways than I could ever express. I am no longer a passive learner - TBB gave me the skills to take ownership of my educational experience. The curriculum opened my eyes to global issues and forced me to challenge the assumptions I held about the world and my place in it. In every course I've taken thus far in college, I have been able to relate abstract ideas and statistics to individuals and concrete experiences I encountered on my gap year. I learned an incredible amount about myself and my capabilities while nurturing a sense of adventure and curiosity about the world around me. Cultivating a strong sense of self is critical for making the most of your four years in college. Living in homestays, working with local experts on a variety of projects, taking language classes, traveling, reading, and discussing important global issues with my peers... all of TBBs program components combined made for an unforgettable year that has shaped my life for the better.

I studied international development issues through readings, seminars, capacity-building projects, and research projects in the field. Traveled for 8 months in 8 counties. Lobbied for international development funding to Capital Hill Congressmen and presented to high schools in D.C.