CYA - Gap Year Program in Greece-Archaeological Field Work

The most exiting stories come from students who, when they arrived in Athens, were away from home for the first time, not certain on what to expect or how to continue with their academic and working careers but following one semester or a full year at CYA they managed to find orientation and meaning by discovering a talent, a theme for research, a new science that they would like to serve and because of this they decided to make a major but fulfilling change in their life which became the starting point for their future excellence. This is what makes CYA is a life changing experience!

I would certainly choose the brand new Gap program we created for this fall!
Learning from the Ancients: a Hands-on Approach to Life from the Ancient Times to Today's Healthy Living is a solid 10 week program on Greek language, culture and history. Participants will spend 5 weeks at an Athenian seaside excavation site learning next to Greek university students and under the instruction and supervision of CYA faculty and the director of the excavation. The rest of the time will be spent visiting Athenian landmarks and points of cultural interest, learning Greek and traveling within Greece. Lastly, participants will spend a week on the island of Kos at the "Ancient House Hippocrates Garden" where they will learn how to plant and tend herbs and coexist in harmony with cedar trees, vineyards, and the fruit bearing trees of the garden under the guidance of Julie Zafeiratou, the owner of the garden.

The uniqueness of CYA lies in the people who work for CYA: first-rate faculty who are distinguished in their field of study and research and who, each in their unique way, guide students through their classes and study travel to discover and love Greece and it's wonderful culture. We have a team of CYA staff who are always available to provide support, assistance, guidance, numerous tips and ideas for exploration and a loving word when that is most needed. We are a team and we love what we do! I felt especially proud of the Short Term Programs team and the greater CYA team when we hosted the Cedar Crest College sophomore expedition to Athens in March 2019 with 165 participants. Also, it was a superb experience and we were all thrilled when CYA hosted the 3rd European Conference of the Forum on Education Abroad in 2016.

Under the shadow of the pandemic that has turned the world and our lives upside down and has shaken our sense of stability, I strongly believe that the biggest factor for success is flexibility that goes along with adaptation and adjustment to whatever each day brings. In order to be flexible you need a solid and stable base which you can in a sense "expand" but where you can always return to and from there move on again to the future step. The next and equally important ingredient for the success of any company, are the people who comprise it and breath in life to each and every little thing that makes the company actually be. CYA has both these ingredients!