Learning Through Experiences

In May, I have the exciting opportunity to travel to Spain and hike the Camino de Santiago, a popular Catholic pilgrimage. In filling out the application, I was able to take a step back and reflect on the reasons that I love Experiential Learning opportunities like this that my college provides. This Global Seminar to...

Wonders of the World

via Daily Prompt: Wonder Wow okay so after my Gap Experience first semester we had to take a class second semester while we were back on campus to "unpack" our experiences. One of the questions we were asked was "What left you in wonder, speechless in awe?" My answer always to this question is our...

Getting Out of My Donut

Our first leg of the Gap Experience Program was a Voyager Outward Bound School course. I go camping every summer with my friends, but nothing could have prepared me for this experience so far outside of my comfort zone. We were living outside, sleeping in the dirt, drinking the dirt, eating the dirt and slowly...

Social Justice Work in the Southwest U.S

The desert southwest presented a rich culture, a mesteja between the Native American Pueblos and the Spanish settlers. Many cultural centers and museums gave us the opportunity to explore these diverse but connected cultures. Being so close to the southern border of our country provided an insightful opportunity to learn about border control, immigration and...

Service and Sight-Seeing in Chicago

Chicago, Illinois is the home of the Willis Tower, Millennium Park, Navy Pier and a "mirrored, bean-shaped sculpture" called Cloud Gate according to a simple Google search. What that Google search doesn't include are the 24 homeless shelters, and over 77 neighborhoods, many home to people living in poverty. Google does however, provide a helpful...

Canoeing and Conversation

So after five days of hiking with my new 8 friends, it was now time to switch out our heavy backpacks for canoes and  mondos. Due to the group traveling sizes of the Boundary Waters, we also had to split our group in half. My group set out in the early morning mist, a little...

Backpacking Expedition

So my journey began. I was with 8 other college freshman. We traveled to the Northern woods of Minnesota. (A 7 hour van ride is a great way to get to know each other quickly by the way). Our first leg of the GAP semester was first backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail and then...

Courage to Grow

Senior year of high school I had a plan for my future. My school was chosen, I had a stellar roommate who shared my interests, my likes and my dislikes. It was all planned out. I was going to be attending school with my best friend from high school, and we were going to make...

The Journey Begins

I decided to start to blog about my adventures I went on and the experiences I had during my first semester of college. Now that I am back on campus in traditional classrooms, I have time to reflect back on my experiences first semester with the Gap Program. I like to write down my thoughts...