Explore your interests and clarify your goals through meaningful short-term work, service, research, or travel. These experiences are meant to round out your resume and build you as a human being; they are not meant to be long term or permanent.
The following experiences can be quite competitive and require the same level of planning as a graduate school or job search. Lewis & Clark has a strong reputation for preparing students for these experiences:
Opportunities for adults to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. Members address critical needs in communities across America.
Volunteers serve overseas to work and collaborate with community members on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.
International exchange program between Japan and other nations. Participants focus on foreign language education and international exchange activities.
National teacher corps of recent graduates committed to teaching in under-resourced urban and rural public schools.
Gap Year
If your plan ends with graduating from college and you want to take time to figure out your next step, another alternative is taking a gap year. A gap year, or time off, is taking about a year after graduation to be involved in a short term job, volunteer or training opportunity. The intent is to have a meaningful experience which helps clarify your interests, skills, values, and goals.
Devoted to inspiring others to explore their own paths, passions, and experiences, “the Roadtrip Nation Movement exists to support, empower, and encourage individuals who want to define their own roads in life.”
