Best Investment We've EVER made!!

We sent our wonderful, brilliant and sweet 18 year old boy on Young Judaea Year Course 2014/15. We took our 6'2" "baby" to the airport and bid him a long, tearful goodbye. He'd been to Camp Young Judaea Texas, Camp Tel Yehudah in Barryville, NY and even on the 6 week YJ program in Israel the summer after his junior year. He had earned a 2nd degree black belt in the Keon do and the prestige of being a National Merit Scholar finalist but he was very much an irresponsible and mostly clueless teenage boy. Yes, I was a helicopter mom and my husband wasn't much better. Josh had been wanting to go on Year Course, "YC" with his Young Judaea friends since middle school and we dreaded letting go. Did I mention that he's our baby?
Josh had been accepted to a prestigious engineering school in NY ( far enough from home in Texas) and they gladly deferred his admission as, "Our university supports and encourages gap year programs due to the quality of student after the gap year experience." Side note- a letter arrived the spring that Josh was on year course with a 4 year HUGE leadership scholarship. I attribute a lot of this scholarship award to their considering his gap year experience. This financial award defrayed the $24,000. cost for YC several times over!! ( stay in touch with university during gap year!)
WHILE IN ISRAEL we'd ( he'd) promised to Skype every Sunday with our "baby." We met his friends & roommates via Skype and had photos and weekly, monthly and during turbulence; daily email, facebook, etc.. from Year Course adult leaders and staff. THANK YOU KATE, & TZIPPI for answering all my probably obnoxious " worried mom" queries!! We never felt uninformed or out of the loop. The kids had LOTS of freedom but were safe and accounted for especially during any political incidents. This group of YC kids quickly metamorphasized into responsible young adults. It was amazing to watch the transformation. Yes, a few of them had bad judgement- which would have occurred at home or college but the great majority of them grew intellectually, religiously, spiritually. They were taught their financial, academic, social and personal responsibilities in classes the first 3 or 4 weeks after their arrival and were given the knowledge and a full arsenal of YC resources including being taken to get bus passes and throughly coached on using the transportation systems. Several months in, they'd travel in groups on the bus going to Eilat or Tel Aviv for Shabbat. They had wonderful host families for Shabbat and holidays! The classes were amazing & helped our math/science kid become better well-rounded as most were history, theology, literature based. GREAT professors!! Imagine learning Jewish history by walking to the sites where the history occurred!! Wow!
We visited Josh for New Years 2015 and met our son as a man for the first time. Words cannot express the profound and positive growth we witnessed in our son. Nachas beyond belief!
By this time 2nd semester moved him from Beit Ar El, the YC secure living BEAUTIFUL compound in Jerusalem to Bat Yam, a 4th floor residential apartment reminiscent of my college quadplex which my mom referred to as "the tenement." 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen & living area which was surprisingly clean considering 7 guys lived there! At this point in the program, the kids choose jobs or army training. Josh chose working on the ambulance service ( he had to study hard to qualify) and our son who rarely got to high school on time was taking the bus to work at 6:00 am , 4 days a week and loving it. Ambulance service near Tel Aviv- yes, he saw and learned a lot. He gained the confidence and knowledge that comes from experience. He also gained an appreciation and understanding of the fragility and resilience of life. This will stay with him forever.
I have to add that making life long friends and irreplaceable experiences during "the best year of their lives" had a down side. Coming home was difficult for a lot of the YC kids. Year Course tries to prepare them for the transition but it's hard. They stayed in touch and worked through it together. But missed Israel & each other very much!
Several of the YC kids stayed and joined the IDF. As a mom, I can't imagine but applaud their dedication.
Our son, now a successful college student completing his freshman year, plans to return to Israel with his education to offer help secure our Jewish homeland. As much as I don't want to say goodbye again, I understand why.
Thank you Young Judaea Year Course for taking our amazing boy and returning our amazing young man! GREAT JOB!