Vanguard Gap Year of Wheaton College

Vanguard was a great experience and came at the perfect time in my life. I came into the program with a variety of unrealistic expectations. I was envisioning an easy year to relax and take a break from school, but thankfully, this was not my Vanguard experience and also not what I needed most. God knew that I needed a year of growth, and I soon discovered that growth requires hard work. Vanguard was one of the most challenging, yet beneficial experiences I have ever had. I highly recommend this program.

I had an incredible year at Vanguard. Although it wasn't always what I expected, the program helped me to grow as an individual, understanding better how to function as an individual, grow in my faith, and choose how I wanted to spend my time living in community with others. It helped me to see areas where I was weaker than I thought, as well as areas where I have strengths, and with the support and guidance of staff and leaders on camp I was able to grow into my strengths and overcome some of my weaknesses to better round out who I want to be and prepare me for future challenges. It challenged my faith to grow and be grounded in what I believe and why I believe it.

I loved my time participating in Vanguard Gap Year at HoneyRock. I wanted to take a gap year after high school because I was interested to see what else was out there before college. What I didn't know at the time was how much I needed the space away from school. Having the opportunity to work with my hands and be in a program with loving leaders helped me to begin to understand who I was as a young adult. It also provided time to reflect on significant events that had happened to me in high school. All of the learning I did during Vanguard happened in a tight knit community and it allowed me to enter college more prepared than my classmates. I also had the opportunity for international travel and many fun adventures that I'll remember forever!