Gap Year Programs in North America

During my gap year, I had the incredible opportunity to work abroad in the Canadian mountains. Surrounded by amazing landscapes I gained hands-on experience in a dynamic environment. Whether assisting guests at a ski resort or living in the mountains, I developed valuable skills in teamwork, adaptability, and communication. The process for applying for an internship was made really easy as I was offered all the help I needed. This experience helped me grow personally but also professionally and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about doing an internship abroad.

Life changing experience, made memories for life. I would passionately recommend this program to anyone unsure of their gap year plans.

Our son was having a difficult time at school and needed reset. Pacific Discovery provided that and so much more. I’d go so far as to say it was a life changing experience for him.

As a parent, I felt my son was in the best hands. He had the most amazing time, gained friends and experiences that he will cherish forever. The program was a great combination between seeing new places, learning about different cultures and doing community service, as well as having fun. For me, receiving regular updates from Pacific Discovery, as well as personal updates when necessary, put my mind at ease.

Awesome experience. Was able to step out of my comfort zone plenty of times and got to experience things I never thought I would. So many experiences like village stay and camping near the beach in New Zealand that I’d never thought in à million years I would experience. Amazing program. I recommend 100%

The Gap Year Program is an intensive, community building, Christ-centered experience that will serve you well as you journey through life. The Gap Year takes intentional time to develop community into what God calls us to have as Christians: building each other up, supporting each other, creating a safe space for all to share, and holding one another accountable. The Gap Year also take time to refine our practical life skills so that we will be successful when we hit the real world. Not only that, but the Gap Year teaches us to strengthen our relationship with God through daily quiet time and through studying the character of God. With more included, the Gap Year is highly recommended for young adults heading into the world.

These past 9 months have been transformative in my relationship with God, self, creation, and others! An aspect of this program is taking time to reflect on moments and to bring them to God. And because of this, I was able to move from a negative perspective of myself to a positive perspective. This program pushes you to move from a narrow mindset to a widened view on the world. Also living with people that you might not agree with has been challenging but rewarding at the same time! I highly recommend this program to any young adult.

I chose a program having to do with an industry i had little to no experience in, but I feel that jump into the deep end allowed me to learn so much. I loved having a group of fellow interns to talk with along with being solo in my specific internship. I faced some challenges with my supervisor but ultimately feel those challenges were also only more lessons to be learned and brought with me in the future. In terms of career prep and experience I think I have learned and gained loads from the program. :)

The Intern Group responded to this reviewDecember 31, 2024

Thanks for sharing your experience in New York, Sorin! It's great to hear your internship program has given you plenty of skills and prep for your future career. We're looking forward to what you do next!

This was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done in my entire life. I would say with confidence that I had learned more during this 10 week program than I have in the two years of college that I have already attended.

I went on the polynesian gap year journey not knowing exactly what to expect. I remember a day before it hit me that i would be spending 10 weeks with complete strangers. However, these were some of the best people I have met and best friends for life. There were many experiences that one would unlikely ever experience without doing a programme as such and i therefore highly recommend it. Many people were put out of their comfort zones and had to take risks which caused them to growth as an individual.

My Polynesian journey with Pacific Discovery has helped me get over a lot of my fears and anxiety around social interaction and relationships as well as my physical fears and it has really helped me to grow as a person

Literally the time of a lifetime, never experienced something like this ever, and even though I’m young this will be something I will 100% tell my kids about. So much happened in only 10 weeks it’s hard to even fathom.

I have recently come back from my gap year and while I was there I spent a month working on the relationships between humans and elephants. So why would I recommend Oyster? I am so glad I picked to do this project with Oyster because they made me feel very well taken care of and looked after me before and during the project. They talk you though everything you need to know before the project takes place and what clothes and necessities you may need to pack. So what does the project consist of? I would do this project a million times if I could, and if you don’t believe me lots of people who were doing the project had already done it before and had come back because of how much they enjoyed it. So the project is on a two week program and you have the option to stay from two weeks to 3 months. The first week is amazing because you build walls for the local community. Some days some of the locals will come and help, or a few kids will come and keep you company, that is amazing because you feel so immersed, it’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience. The second week is spent tracking elephants. This was my favourite out of the two because you learn all about the elephants foot prints. We also managed to see a two day old elephant which we were lucky enough to name !!! So why pick this project? I think this project and Oyster have a lot of selling points. For starters Oyster takes very good care of you and help you organise yourself before the project starts so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Secondly you are in the middle of the desert, I don’t think you could get anymore rural than that. You don’t really have much service so it’s lovely to disconnect for two weeks. You get to spend some time with lovely people who you may not meet on a day to day basis, people from different countries, locals, and different ages. You camp under the stars which is also amazing. Overall I would always recommend this amazing project, such a special experience!!

Oyster Worldwide responded to this reviewAugust 13, 2024

Wonderful to read about your experience, thank you Emily! The Oyster Team

I completed an Erasmus+ internship at Alice and Beltran's diving school (as part of my biology studies) and would like to share my entirely positive experience here: As I had never been diving before my internship, I arrived a little earlier to get my diving license in the days before. I was able to do this directly at the diving school where I also did my internship afterwards. To get my diving license, I had to pass a theoretical test and complete five practice dives. From the very beginning, I noticed how much importance the owners of the diving school placed on safety - both for the divers themselves and for the marine life under water. I was very happy and grateful about this, as I had unfortunately already heard about various negative experiences at other diving schools. Then the internship began, which was roughly divided into a practical and a theoretical part, with the practical part clearly predominating, especially in the second month. The owner of the diving school, Alice, is herself a marine biologist. She informed us about the classification of various animal phyla that can be found in the Atlantic, as well as the structure of the sea as a habitat. I was able to build on my previous zoological knowledge from my basic module at the FU Berlin and deepen this knowledge, especially underwater, when we were supposed to actively identify the individual organisms. We also exchanged ideas about writing a scientific paper and about common statistical methods for data analysis in ecology. This also enabled me to supplement my existing basic knowledge. My boss's main research focus was the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, which is particularly important for various species of sea turtles, as they use it as their primary food source. We mainly measured the density of seagrass per square meter in a defined area in order to be able to better characterize the species. For these dives we always went to the Abades Reserve, an area protected from boats and anglers in the southeast of the island, about 25 minutes by car from Los Cristianos. During these dives we often saw turtles frolicking on the seagrass meadows to feed. The internship consisted of various other dives: we went diving twice at night to observe nocturnal organisms. We also collected garbage from the ocean on so-called "Dives against Debris", which we then documented on the PADI Aware website and disposed of separately. I really enjoyed that, even though it is always sad to see the underwater world so polluted. We also went on a trip on land to one of the many natural pools on Tenerife to get to know the coastal ecosystem better. Here too, our theoretical knowledge played a major role. Alice also organized a lecture with a scientist from the north of Tenerife who reported on his research on the shark species that live there. My internship mostly consisted of a four-day week with an average of six to seven hours per day. After the dives, tidying up and cleaning the equipment was part of the daily tasks. Since we often had two dives in one day, we made sure to take long enough breaks. Our boss always provided snacks and drinks, which made for a very relaxed and almost familial working atmosphere. I also quickly became friends with the other interns and we went on many trips together outside of the internship. All in all, I would recommend this internship to anyone who is interested in marine biology, as it offers a great balance to the university environment of the course. I am very grateful to have gained additional experience in the field of marine biology through this opportunity. I hope I can come back soon to complete my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. :-)

I learn much better in an outdoor environment. My love of learning absolutely flourished as I got excited about learning the ins and outs of the environments I was getting to live in and be a part of. For instance I was so excited about learning about the geology of the canyons and felt my curiosity about the world expand.

I’ve come out of this experience with a matured sense of self. My time at HMI has allowed me to better my understanding of who I am, how my experiences leading up to the present have shaped me, and how I can grow into the person I want to become. My confidence in myself has grown exponentially, and I find myself with an increased ambition to seek out experiences that will force me to think differently. Learning about environmental ethics while in the backcountry allowed me to better understand the readings and curriculum, putting myself in the author’s shoes

I chose to embark on the fall trek 2023 program. I went backpacking in Colorado mountains, Utah canyons, and Patagonian valleys. I had tons of fun getting to know my group on trail and making special moments together. We grew so much as a community and learned a lot about the environment which strengthened our connection with nature. Baking in the field has been a really cool thing to learn. During our trip in the canyons, we decided we wanted to learn how to bake delicious food. Alex one of our instructors taught me and a friend how to make cinnamon rolls! After long, intensive (but fun) work prepping the dough and baking the rolls, we bit into the delicious pastries. And they were so worth the effort and time.

I’m not usually a very active person, so HMI was a massive change for me. I learned I was capable of things I’d never thought I could do. I learned how I react in tough situations, and got better at i

My favorite day on the semester was my 18th birthday where we were lounging about and one of our instructors gave us the idea to dunk in Lago Verde in Patagonia and so our entire group ran into the lake holding hands.

I spent 80 days traveling to world class climbing destinations and backpacking through breathtaking environments. I formed strong bonds with my small group and learned about myself. Goal setting and an encouraging environment made it easy to push myself and others to better themselves. I learned about the importance of self confidence, vulnerability, and mindfulness. I learned a lot about my future and what I want to pursue next year. I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to make decisions.