AmeriCorps as Gap Year

peggysue
Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:16:03 +0000

I’m a high school junior with a strong academic record. I’ll likely get in somewhere I like next year, but…

1. I’m not sure if I can go straight into another four years of school.

2. I feel that I’ve never had enough time to give back to the community.

3. I think I can be self-centered and naive.

I’ve been considering what to do about these various concerns and I’m wondering if taking a year for AmeriCorps service would be a viable option. It would be a change of pace and I have always gotten a lot out of community service, but haven’t had the time with school and extracurriculars. I have no ideas of grandeur about AmeriCorps- I understand that my stipend will provide for very bare living circumstances and completing almost 2000 hours of community service isn’t going to be easy and I’ll be challenged in ways I never have been before. But that all sounds like an adventure-one that also has the benefit of helping communities in need.

Has anyone taken this option or considered it and decided on a different route?

Thanks!