FEATURE
--few others, however, are opting for more unique options, such as providing medical care in New Delhi, teaching English in Zanzibar, or studying culinary arts in Italy. These experiences, called a gap year, offer graduating students a chance to explore various national and worldwide service or learning opportunities. A gap year, which first became popular in the 1960s with high school graduates, is defined by Planet Gap Year, an online gap-year planning community, as a length of time — anywhere from three months to two years — that a student takes off from formal education to travel, volunteer, study or intern. The gap-year option offers recent college graduates a chance to transition into the real world, learn life skills, add to a resume and explore a possible career.
A group of children at the WorldTeach site in Namibia, Africa. PHOTO BY WORLDTEACH
A after graduation, most students expect to be sitting in a cubicle, or perhaps waiting by the phone for an interview. A
Ben Wilinsky, a senior from Overland Park, decided to apply for Teach For America because he liked the idea of making a difference in the world of education. Teach For America is a corps that recruits people for a two-year commitment to teach in public schools. Since the corps was chartered in 1990, Teach For America has reached more than 3 million students.
"I really relate to the cause it stands for. The demographics of a school directly correlate to what kind of education students receive. That concept really resonated with me," Wilinksky, a journalism major, says.
Wilinsky will begin working for Teach for America in Chicago in June. He says he expects that every day will be different, and he is looking forward to developing his personal skills.
"I wasn't interested in taking a job sitting in a cubicle. I'm going to try to be the best teacher I can be, and whether I go into education, journalism or go to law school, I think I'll have a better idea of who I am," Wilinskv savs.
Wilinsky says that Teach For America has an intense selection process. With the
organization emphasizing leadership as an essential skill, he says he went through an online application, oral interview and finally a unique group interview, which involves carrying out a lesson plan, and finally a one-on-one interview. Wilinsky says everyone in the group interview interacts and works in a group together.
"I didn't feel like I was competing with the people in the room, I was just competing with myself. They just want to find the right people, and so we were all trying to help each other out," Wilinsky says.
Jefferson Baum, the recruitment manager for the University, says that the selection process, while highly selective, is not competitive. He says that for candidates to set themselves apart from the rest, they must have assumed leadership responsibilities.
"I think everything that distinguishes a top leader is a learnable skill. Take on leadership responsibility. That doesn't always mean being the president of something. It could mean a responsibility within sports team or one of your classes," Baum says.
Baum also says an important step to take before applying to the corps is educating yourself about the obstacles that students face.
Baum, who served as a Kansas City corps member before joining the staff,says he thinks the best time for someone to consider taking a gap year is right after completing an undergraduate degree. He says that participating in the corps after college gave him a new perspective on life.
"After college, I felt I had a high level of skill. My vision of myself shifted quickly when I became personally responsible for 70 students. Everyone that comes into TFA cares about education and children, but you leave with a very different, more passionate feeling." Baum says.
Lila Givens, the program manager for City Year New Hampshire, agrees that learning about yourself is one added bonus of working with children. City Year, a nonprofit in which members work in schools for one year, has spread to 23 cities with more than 2,000 corps members that each
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