“Gap year is not an escape from education, but preparation for it,” — Ukrainian graduates and their free year

“Immediately after finishing school – to the university,” is the invariable rule of every graduate. However, the gap year is gaining more and more popularity in Ukraine.

Gap year (free year) — a period of time, the so-called break in formal education, which is mostly done by school graduates with different goals:

• Decide on the desired field of study
• Gain more extracurricular experiences through volunteering and non-formal education
• Work and try yourself in different fields

This way of spending the year is very popular in America.

“School graduates usually take a gap year in order to decide on a future profession, strengthen their portfolio through volunteering or work. And also save money for education. In addition, such students are usually even more successful than those who immediately entered the university.” says American Lily Ott.

This phenomenon is new in Ukraine. For many, this is an extremely difficult step, because under the pressure of parents and society, students enter universities and do what they don’t want to do. However, what happens to those Ukrainians who do take a gap year? Are they really wasting a precious year of their lives? Or are young people who took a gap year many times happier and more successful than others? The stories of our heroes will give answers to this.

A gap year is not a waste of time

Crazy workload and the desire to recharge forced a young scientist from Kyiv, Maria Godovanets, to take a gap year, about which the girl enthusiastically tells:

“The advantage of this year was the time to understand what I really want. I had the opportunity to travel, take part in international exchange programs.  I combined it with volunteering, work in the Brave Generation program, etc. My gap year was quite productive.”

This year was also very fruitful for Polina Chub from Kharkiv. During her gap year, the girl was able not only to devote time to her development, but also to help others in this.

“I created various public projects in Kharkiv, such as a cultural festival. She also created an academy for financial literacy in Kharkiv, Lviv and Cherkasy, Polina shares. “In addition, she worked as a teacher of acrobatics and stretching.”

In addition, Polina also traveled in Europe. And later she moved to Kyiv, where she started working full-time in a hotel chain. During this time, the girl also finally decided that she wanted to enter the university and had enough time for this. Her hard work paid off.

“I gained a lot of new experience and life lessons, because I was constantly trying something new and different. This year made me understand what I want to do for at least the next 5-7 years, – says Polina Chub and adds: During the gap year, I went through the entire application process to universities and as a result received full funding for studying at the University of Rochester.” .

A rather similar path awaited Vladyslav Yatskiv, a 17-year-old boy from the village of Kosmach, Ivano-Frankivsk region. This year he begins his studies at Yale University. During his gap year, he also helped Ukrainian youth.

“Since I am the head of the youth council in the Dzvinia community in the Frankiv region, I have had much more time to organize interesting youth activities and projects, to research things that interest me and just to do my favorite things.”

The boy also says that he could do different things, and finally realize that he really wants to study and what he wants to do in the future. According to Vladyslav, the opportunity to rest is also a big advantage of a gap year. However, the boy says that such a privilege is actually more conditional, because there is an opportunity to make his life more rich through other things, such as volunteering, traveling, non-formal education, etc.

There are still disadvantages of a year without studying

As Vladyslav says, the main problem that arises during a gap year is the difficulty of being perceived by the environment.

“Gap year is not a widespread phenomenon and Ukrainians are not yet ready for it. I understood this in the first months, – says Vladyslav. — Even I, knowing that this year would be beneficial to me, still could not help but compare myself and my peers who had already obtained a higher education. I often scolded myself for losing a year.”

As the girls say, it is quite easy to lose time in such a situation.

“You are given full opportunity, or rather full freedom of choice, how to spend your time,” emphasizes Polina Chub. — So, if it is not planned correctly, it can be wasted.”

And in order for this not to happen, according to Maria Godovanets, you need to have good time management skills. After all, if the graduate does not know what he will do during this year and does not plan his days, then the gap year will definitely not be beneficial. In addition, the support of loved ones is also important.

Attitude of parents towards gap year

Gap year is quite a new approach for planning one’s life for Ukrainians. That is why parents of children who want to take this year off are usually afraid of the unknown.

“Parents reacted very badly. However, I talked with them for a long time and explained everything, – says Maria. — I have a certain strategy for those who plan to take a gap year.  Prepare parents in advance. Explain what your plans are for life in general. Plan everything and tell them that you will not be sitting at home, that you will be doing something interesting.”

Parents should also be told about the possibility of work and non-formal education. It was the knowledge of how this year would pass that helped the relatives of all our heroes to try to accept the children’s choices and support them.

Life after the gap year

The final point of the gap year of each of the heroes was successful admission to the best universities in the world. Thanks to this year, they were able to decide on plans for several years, or even decades ahead.

“I will study economics and ecology at Yale University,” shares Maria Godovanets. — I definitely want to return to Ukraine in order to develop such a direction as ecological economy. That is, that the economy should be combined with green principles of sustainability.”

Vladyslav will also study at Yale University. The boy will study international relations and history, research his genealogy.

“I want to travel a lot, especially by bicycle. I believe that I will find time for some big international trip in the coming years. And I also want to conquer many peaks – firstly mountain ones, but I will also work hard on career peaks, – adds Vladyslav enthusiastically.

Polina Chub also wants to work productively and take advantage of her studies at the University of Rochester. The girl will study political science, philosophy and economics. And also plans to join her university’s business school. In addition to academic plans, she aims to develop the culture of Ukraine in the United States:

“The city of Rochester has a large Ukrainian diaspora, but I want to create a Ukrainian union at my university in order to learn more about Ukraine,” says Polina. — And the number one plan after graduation is to return to Ukraine and develop it. And while I’m there, I’ll continue to raise money for the Armed Forces and help people here.”

Valery Shalyakhina