Everybody should have a gap experience. I’m grateful that mine was the Residential Gap Semester program at Outward Bound Costa Rica. The program taught me so much ranging from STEAM and nature, to culture, communication, responsibility, and so much more. Ultimately I came out of OBCR’s Residential Program with an incredible experience I could never have had anywhere else.
I always knew I wanted to take a gap year. After twelve years of schooling, the last couple being especially intensive, I knew I needed a break. But a productive break. Gap programs allow students to discover themselves, helping them realize what they love and are passionate about. In this way, gap experiences can serve as guides to students to show them what path they may want to pursue in the future. This is incredibly useful because a common concern for college-bound students is deciding what they are going to study. Gap programs can not only help answer that question but also prepare students for their next four years. Increased confidence, independence and organizational skills are all incredibly useful traits gap experiences can offer students. Additionally, statistics have shown that gap year/semester students outperform in college, another positive effect of having a break between high school and college. For these reasons and many more, taking a gap year/semester is not common enough in today’s society.
After being allowed a deferral from my university, I identified my objectives, chose my desired geographic location and began researching programs. After spending much time reviewing the Gap Year Association page and other University-recommended gap year programs, I coordinated a number of informational calls with highly praised programs in Costa Rica – one of them being OBCR.
Starting with my first introductory call with Outward Bound Costa Rica, the rest of my entire experience with the OBCR staff has been nothing but excellent. I have always felt supported and taken care of by not only my own counselors but outside administrative staff as well. Students’ experiences are put first, through their service but also the content of each course.
There was not a day during Outward Bound Costa Rica’s Residential Program that I didn’t receive a hands-on learning experience. Examples include researching sea turtle nesting and witnessing an in-person Arribada, learning about indigenous communities and living with the Boruca tribe, studying marine biology and seeing bioluminescence during a night dive, and much more. In addition to the exciting, packed full curriculum the Residential Program offers, students also learn about responsibility and communication through group protocols.
For me, the most impactful aspect of the Residential Program was being able to meet the people of Costa Rica. “Pura vida” truly came through each person we met. From learning about indigenous injustice from an impressive social justice professor, cooking patacones alongside a kind couple from Asoprola, making tapas of sugar cane with the family of local sugar cane plantation in Buenos Aires, painting a cultural staple design of Costa Rica from an experienced artist in Sarchí, and so much more. Each person we were able to meet had their own generational knowledge, unique traditions and beautiful cultural practices. And always “con mucho gusto,” they were willing to share it all.
I had 65 days with Outward Bound Costa Rica; learning about so much more than just what’s included in the (amazing) curriculum. Even after more than double the amount of days the program endured, I still wear my residential group’s necklace – proudly wearing a memento of my life-changing gap semester experience wherever I go.