I started my gap year before I found LeapYear. It felt so overwhelming at first, I felt like I had too much time that I didn’t know what to do with, and the next week I’d feel overwhelemed. It’s all over the place and it can be very stressful, but that’s were LeapYear stepped in, the team helped me be organized and get connections that I never would have got on my own, they helped me stay accountable and focused when I wasn’t sure where I was heading, I truly believe that without LeapYear, my gap year would not have been near as successful as it is today.
The weekly coaching calls were huge for me - having someone to check in with and help me figure out my next steps made all the difference. I got so much real world experience. I had two favorite career opportunities that stand out. First, I got to be an assistant basketball coach, which combined my love of the sport with learning how to lead and mentor others. Then I interned with this organic social media company where I helped create viral content for celebrity brands. That was a total game-changer - I learned so much about digital marketing and creative strategy that I never would have been exposed to otherwise. I was coming up with ideas that got turned into content for CPG brands and got millions of views.
Beacuse of Leapyear, what started as an overwhelming and uncertain time and turned my gap year into a year of real growth and incredible experiences.
What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I think the most surprising thing that I found was how, before LeapYear, I really had no idea what to do. I thought I’d have some kind of direction or idea of what I’d be doing on my own, but I was so lost on what to do that I wasted about 3 weeks of my gap year not learning anything, it wasn’t until I started LeapYear that I gained direction, set goals and started making my ideas come to life, that I really got anything accomplished. Within a week of joining LeapYear I had a clear path on what I could do to accomplish my goals that I had felt aimless on before.
