February is Gap Year Exploration Month and we are inviting you to #explorethegapyear with us! Check out this full roster of GYEM events across the world. First we speak with Alia Pialtos of USA Gap Year Fairs. USA Gap Year Fairs organizes events across the US for students to discover gap year programs. Every winter, USA GYF travels to 41 locations from sea to shining sea. There are 20 fairs in February, so check usagapyearfairs.org to find one near you! We also speak with gap year alum Vicky Berman, who tells us about the fairs from a student perspective. USA Gap Year Fairs..

Our last episode of 2018 is also our Season 1 wrap up. Stay tuned for Season 2 coming Feb 4, 2019! Be sure to visit a USA Gap Year Fair near you this winter. These fairs provide students with a broad exposure to gap year programs and the opportunity for face-to-face conversations with professionals in the field. USA Gap Year Fairs has grown from coordinating 8 events to 40+ events over the past 11 years. Fairs are held in most major US cities and cuter, smaller places too, like Lebanon NH! See the full schedule here. Margo & Julia will..

John O’Connor and Eamonn Mazur were friends throughout their high school days in Massachusetts, and were able to turn a small seedling of an idea to hike the Appalachian Trail start to finish on their gap year into a reality. After many months of preparation, and differing pursuits in the fall of their gap year, they embarked on the adventure of a lifetime in March of this year. In this episode, they talk to Margo about their experience on trail and how the many ups and downs of the Appalachian Trail have impacted them in where they are today. You..

Brad Gillings is the founder of Youth International, an experiential learning program that combines authentic international travel, cultural exchange, home stays with local families, volunteer community service work, and outdoor expeditions.  Brad spent much of his early twenties traveling – first for 9 months with Up with People, then on his own in teaching in Japan and backpacking through much of Asia and Africa. He then found himself back in the US volunteering with NCCC, an arm of Americorps. Brad talks with us about how Youth International combines the ethos of NCCC with the rugged backpacking he came to love as a..

Gap year student and Travel Access Project grant recipient Michelle Zhang used her year to become fluent in Spanish while spending time in Guatemala, Mexico, Columbia and Peru. She began by studying at a language school on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala and bonding with her host family. She then went on to intern in Oaxaca Mexico with the EnVia Foundation, an organization that empowers women through microloans. As if that wasn’t enough, she then went on to backpack solo for two months in Columbia and Peru, making friends and conquering challenging treks along the way.  Guatemala Spanish..

Ryan Allen spent most of his twenties studying, teaching and traveling abroad (a self-described “gap decade”). A passionate surfer, Ryan chased waves in New Zealand, Norway and elsewhere. He eventually made his way to the famous waves of northwest Ireland, where he went on to found Irish Gap year with his business partner, Killian O’Kelly. In our interview Ryan shares how he came to become an experiential educator and describes the student experience of Irish Gap Year.   University of Canterbury in Christchurch – Where Ryan Studied abroad  The Ashoken Center in New York – where Ryan worked before moving to..