What did you do in your gap year? (Note: Andrew took a year off between his first and second years of college.) I spent a year traveling and writing speeches in the Governor’s office after my freshman year. It was an eye-opening, challenging, and clarifying experience that is definitely worth considering! I spent the fall backpacking with one of my best friends, Chase Fuller, CA ‘12. We did a lot of trekking in Patagonia, before exploring New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. At times we found ourselves freezing, running from street dogs, and overwhelmed by life, but we also had a lot of fun and I gained both confidence and clarity from some of the challenges we faced. I spent some of the spring semester in Myanmar, Thailand, and India on my own, and then spent the summer interning for Governor Hickenlooper’s then Chief of Staff, Roxane White, which was an incredible experience.

Why did you decide to take a gap year? I knew I would be transferring from USC to Yale and would be starting over anyway! I had always regretted not doing a gap year after high school, and wanted to test my limits and challenge myself outside of the classroom. There was also so much reading I wanted to do that I never seemed to get around to when surrounded by classes, friends, and HBO. That’s one thing about a gap year I would highlight actually: Having time to read can be an incredible education in itself, and I learned more academically that year than I would have in college.

 

I would definitely listen to my Mom and add some more structure. It’s great to have lots of freedom, but traveling can get lonely when you aren’t anchored to a community or a project. I would make sure my gap year included more of a mix of solo travel and working or living in a community.

 

How do you think your gap year has impacted you? What’s changed about you? My gap year gave me a better sense of what mattered to me most. It’s easy to get caught up in the flow of life and spend time caught up in petty anxieties and worries. My gap year left me with a huge appreciation for the value of spending time with people you love and pursuing projects you truly care about. I think it also made me more reflective and deliberate, and gave me a sense of both the wonder and the suffering that fills our world.