No Gap in This Year

It's called many things. Time out. Time off. Year off. Deferred year. And perhaps most commonly, gap year. But in many ways, the phrases are misleading, especially for the teenagers enrolled in Thinking Beyond Borders, a new program cocreated by Robin Pendoley, Ed.M.'03, that allows students taking off the year between high school and college to travel the world and explore international development through service projects. In Bua, a small village in Ecuador, the students hand-dug a well for a community center and built ecological toilets for local schools. In Kunming, a city of 5 million in China, they taught English at three schools. And in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, they worked with the Waste Collectors Union sifting through trash in an effort to learn about recycling and then hosted a student environmental conference with more than 60 local university students.

The 35-week program officially started last September in Costa Rica with 16 students and three staff members. Centered around eight development issues, including clean water, public health, and sustainable agriculture, the program's purpose is similar to other gap year programs: It allows students time to find their direction and, in some cases, develop maturity and independence, before jumping into college or the work world.

"So much of our education system is about reaching the next milestone: winter vacation, the end of the semester, graduation," says Liz Kuenstner, a current participant, while in Vietnam. "I spent all of high school working towards The Next Big Thing -- college -- without any real consciousness of the larger picture and what I was ultimately working towards. I certainly don't know what that is now, but taking this year with Thinking Beyond Borders has challenged me to reflect on what I want to pursue."

Because students travel throughout Asia, South America, Africa, and North America, the program uniquely allows students to reflect globally.

"It's hard to keep the magnitude of what we're doing in perspective," says Pendoley in an e-mail while the group is in China, the fourth country on the itinerary. "Each day we venture out into a culture that we are just beginning to understand, the students engage readings that challenge their understanding of themselves and the world around them, and we sit in dialogue trying to make sense of it all. Just over two months in, students have begun to question their deepest assumptions about how the world works, what causes poverty and oppression, and what role they can play in an effort to effect change."

By the time they had reached their sixth country, Vietnam, Pendoley says it was clear that each student was struggling with these questions.

"Their assumptions are clearly being challenged and they have begun to see themselves in new ways," he says. "Some are expressing for the first time that their ethnicity, nationality, and economic class might be significant social and political identifiers for them. Service work has provided an understanding of the challenges of development work, the fragility of wellintentioned idealism, and the need for expertise and careful planning when providing services to those in need. At the same time, many are expressing an understanding of the universality of some human experiences."

For student Renee Slajda, this has meant adding more questions to the ones she initially had in September. "What makes the program exciting is exactly what makes it feel overwhelming at times: There's just so much to it," she says during their month in Vietnam. "One question begets five more."

Living with host families proved to be a challenge for many, as did living without cell phones -- a deliberate policy set by the staff. "The cell phone rule is primarily about ensuring that students see the program staff as their primary support people, rather than family and friends thousands of miles away," says Pendoley. (Students can access e-mail.)

As the group moved on to their next country, Thailand (India had to be canceled due to the Mumbai attacks), Pendoley talked about having his computer stolen in Peru, the logistical challenges of traveling on buses, boats, and planes and though small villages, and the need to grow their financial aid. (About a quarter of the students receive aid.) But, he added, every challenge is worth it. "It's rare to go to bed these days without feeling excitement for the possibilities in the day to come."

---Go to www.thinkingbeyondborders.org to learn more about the program, and to read stories written by the students during the trip.