Gap Year Radio

It's Thanksgiving week, so we wanted to bring you an episode that celebrates family. Michael's gap year story is as much about family as some of the amazing adventures he did independently. Michael joined structured programs in Asia and Africa, but also interned and traveled with friends and family. In this episode Michael and his dad Ron join us to talk about their gap year experiences (Ron took...

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...

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 wo...

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 expe...

Lily Slaughter graduated from high school in the picturesque town of Stowe, Vermont. She knew for a while that she wanted to take a gap year. Her wanderlust and desire to do good led her to Bali, where a plan to teach English for a couple months ballooned into a eight-month-long stay with the community. In this episode, she talks to Julia about her experience and how it has changed her world forev...

Welcome to Gap Year Radio, the show that brings you information and inspiration to plan a life-changing gap year adventure! Gap Year Radio is a new podcast hosted by Julia Rogers and Margo Brookfield, gap year experts who want to bring you stories from students, travelers and educators who can get you off the conveyor belt and on the path to self exploration before, during or after college. New ep...