Taking a Gap Year: How to know if it’s right for your teen
with Marion Taylor
The replay period for this interview is over, but you can still access the recording through the Success Package, here.
Taking a Gap Year: How to know if it’s right for your teen
Gap years are becoming more and more popular among today’s high school graduates. And if spent intentionally, this year can be filled with experience and growth for your kid. But there’s a lot of misinformation out there, and, understandably, many parents still get very nervous about the idea of their kids doing this. Marion Taylor, fully accredited Gap Year Advisor with the Gap Year Association, works with students on customized gap experiences based on interests and goals. She took her own gap year in 1974, and all 4 of her children took a personalized, meaningful year off from school. Join us to learn…
- The biggest myths and misconceptions about gap years
- Benefits a student can experience by taking a gap year
- Signs a gap year may or may not be right for your teen
- Different types of gap year programs students can look into
- How a gap year can impact what a student does or does not want to major in, and pursue as a career
- How taking a gap year might impact a student’s GPA when they do get to college
- Where to get started when searching for gap year programs, without getting overwhelmed!
- When teens should begin looking at gap year program options if they’re considering it
About Your Speaker
Marion Taylor
Born and raised in Colorado, Marion Taylor is married and the mother of four children ranging in ages from 21-30. Prior to founding Taylor The Gap LLC in 2011, Marion worked in the field of Social Work for over 35 years with non-profit organizations and foundations focused on families, women, and children, both domestically and abroad.
She became a fully accredited Gap Year Advisor with the Gap Year Association in 2018 and has recently joined their Board of Directors for 2019. Marion Taylor works with young and adult students nationally from all orientations, abilities, and economic backgrounds, and emphasizes student ownership and direction in the design of customized gap experiences based on interests and goals. She also serves as a keynote speaker at various USA Gap Fairs and speaks regularly at colleges and high schools. Marion flanked her own college years with a gap year at the University of Grenoble, France, followed by three years with a rural development program with Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, after college. She distinguishes herself by experiencing and vetting gap programs in an ongoing basis to keep current of gap issues. Over the past few years, Marion has volunteered teaching English to women in Moshi, Tanzania, worked with women’s co-ops in Gisenyi, Rwanda, visited Batase village, Nepal, and immersed herself in intensive Spanish language programs in Antigua, Guatemala, and in Cuenca, Ecuador. All four of her children have participated in a gap experience ranging from internships in Cape Town, South Africa, to language programs in Peru and Italy, to study abroad in Greece, to work placements in Colorado and Utah, to a wilderness program in the Himalayas, India.