Press
As the global bridge year movement gains traction in the U.S., we are proud to have been featured in the following publications as a leader in expanding access to bridge year opportunities for more – and more diverse – high school graduates each year.
Featured Stories
Forbes Feature: 3 Ways Colleges Can Build a Bridge for Future Leaders
Published on 03/26/2013 in Forbes Magazine
The 21st century poses looming challenges that will surely tax the talents of our future leaders across business, government and civil society. And since the quality of tomorrow’s leadership is tied to the quality of today’s education system, there is good reason for concern.
Graduating high schoolers are entering college underprepared, or so over-prepared by the high-pressure race to “get in” that they’re burned out by the time they step foot on campus.
Families, burdened by the high price of college, are questioning their return on investment.
Colleges and universities are faced with very real concerns about drop-out rates—which are…
USA Today Features Global Citizen Year Alumni in Article on Bridge Year Gains
Published on 05/07/2013 in USA Today
Sydni Heron treated machete wounds and helped deliver a baby at a small-town clinic in Ecuador following her graduation from Ames High School in Iowa.
Now, she’s headed to college to study nursing.
Heron, 19, took what in the U.S. remains an unconventional route to college by delaying enrollment one year to work and gain life experience, a concept known as a gap year.
Living in a foreign land where she did not speak the language helped her develop a new-found confidence, she said.
“I’m better able to think for myself,” Heron said. “I didn’t even know there was another…
Front Page Feature: Global Citizen Year in the SF Chronicle
Published on 09/04/2012 in San Francisco Chronicle
Lucy Blumberg was the classic Lowell High School student.
The San Francisco teen strove for straight A’s and fell short by one B – in driver’s education - and was accepted into the prestigious Northwestern University, her first step to becoming a doctor.
But by the time the college acceptance letter arrived in the mailbox, Blumberg realized she was burned out.
She still wanted to go to college, but not yet.
So Blumberg joined a growing number of American teens taking a yearlong break from homework, midterms and textbooks and headed to West Africa to work in health clinics.
…
New York Times Features Groundbreaking College Partnership
Published on 09/12/2012 in The New York Times: The Choice
Sometimes, after a hectic high school experience overshadowed by a competitive — or perhaps, disappointing — college admissions process, seniors just need a break.
The idea of a gap year… between high school and college could be tempting to students who are not ready to transition to the next level of education. And there are many ways to fill the deferred freshman year. You could travel. Get a job. Pursue a passion that has nothing to do with your professional or academic aspirations. You could breathe.
What’s to stop a student from taking such a hiatus? Society, for one. In
Fast Company Features Global Citizen Year
Published on 07/06/2012 in Fast Company
When Global Citizen Year founder Abby Falik was 18, she wanted to enroll in the Peace Corps instead of going straight to college. “I was a good student, but ready to do something real in the world before continuing on to more school, and the Peace Corps says, ‘See you in four years, go to college first,’” she remembers. “So I’ve been sort of fixated since then on the irony that when you’re 18 in this country, you can join the military, you can join some sort of religious mission and go abroad, but there’s no way to do global…
A Student’s ‘Gap Year’ Need Not Break The Bank
Published on 01/21/2011 in The Associated Press
If students are attracted to high-priced programs, like working on a foreign development project, there are ways to lower the price. For instance, Global Citizen Year, a San Francisco-based organization that places students in Senegal, Ecuador and Brazil, offers scholarships to help defray the cost. The two-year-old program looks at the same financial aid forms required by colleges and offers assistance on a sliding scale, said CEO Abby Falik. A third of its 33 participants is on full scholarship and another third have partial grants.…
Abigail Falik Wants Students to Take a Year Off Doing Good Abroad
Published on 04/11/2011 in Christian Science Monitor
If timing is everything, then Abigail Falik… timed the launch of her nonprofit Global Citizen Year (GCY) with the precision of an atomic clock. As America’s young adults find themselves in a new global economy and job market, her idea has come to fruition at exactly the right moment.
Be a Global Citizen– For a Year and Beyond
Published on 05/10/2011 in Foreign Policy
Gap years… are not a common phenomenon in the U.S., but increasingly American teenagers are considering alternative options pre-college and seeking opportunities to expand their horizons before committing to particular universities or majors.
Bridge Year
Published on 03/04/2012 in The Boston Globe
The bridge year, a popular option overseas and among children of the 1 percent, should become a widely available, actively encouraged option in America. It would be better for students, and in the long term, for the nation.
Historically, the bridge year was something only the wealthy could afford, but a year off does not need to be an unbearable financial burden. Global Citizen Year, for example, offers amazing world-learning experiences in places like Brazil and Senegal to participants and also offers financial aid.…
Global Citizen Year Creates Social Enterprise Leaders
Published on 07/26/2011 in Forbes
Josh grew up in a rough neighborhood of Oakland, Calif. Despite learning disabilities and other challenges, he was accepted into a program that let him spend the year after his graduation from high school in a community development program in Senegal, Africa. A year later, he stood in front of an audience including his parents and local community leaders and talked about his experiences. And in September 2011, he is headed to a college in the northeast on scholarship to pursue a career that will take him far from those Oakland streets.…
Global Citizen Year: An Alternative Peace Corps
Published on 10/13/2011 in Wisconsin Public Radio
Abby Falik was dismayed when she discovered she couldn’t join the Peace Corps after graduating from high school only because she hadn’t yet turned eighteen. So she started a Peace Corps of her own. Listen to the interview with Abby on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Here on Earth” show.…
Teach for the World
Published on 03/10/2010 in New York Times
Nicholas Kristof highlights Global Citizen Year as a model for engaging young Americans in global issues, and says: “Fewer than 30 percent of Americans have passports, and only one-quarter can converse in a second language. And the place to learn languages isn’t an American classroom but in the streets of Quito or Dakar or Cairo.”…
Why Getting Americans Out of the Country Will Save the Earth
Published on 02/10/2010 in The Huffington Post
Students spend their Global Citizen Year in a Peace Corps-like service project in a developing nation. It’s a brilliant idea. Traveling and living in abroad is the best way to understand another culture, learn a new language, and grapple with the consequences of global poverty.…
Full Archive
USA Today Features Global Citizen Year Alumni in Article on Bridge Year Gains
Published on 05/07/2013 in USA Today
Sydni Heron treated machete wounds and helped deliver a baby at a small-town clinic in Ecuador following her graduation from Ames High School in Iowa.
Now, she’s headed to college to study nursing.
Heron, 19, took what in the U.S. remains an unconventional route to college by delaying enrollment one year to work and gain life experience, a concept known as a gap year.
Living in a foreign land where she did not speak the language helped her develop a new-found confidence, she said.
“I’m better able to think for myself,” Heron said. “I didn’t even know there was another…
Read the full story in USA Today
Forbes Feature: 3 Ways Colleges Can Build a Bridge for Future Leaders
Published on 03/26/2013 in Forbes Magazine
The 21st century poses looming challenges that will surely tax the talents of our future leaders across business, government and civil society. And since the quality of tomorrow’s leadership is tied to the quality of today’s education system, there is good reason for concern.
Graduating high schoolers are entering college underprepared, or so over-prepared by the high-pressure race to “get in” that they’re burned out by the time they step foot on campus.
Families, burdened by the high price of college, are questioning their return on investment.
Colleges and universities are faced with very real concerns about drop-out rates—which are…
Read the full story in Forbes Magazine
New York Times Features Groundbreaking College Partnership
Published on 09/12/2012 in The New York Times: The Choice
Sometimes, after a hectic high school experience overshadowed by a competitive — or perhaps, disappointing — college admissions process, seniors just need a break.
The idea of a gap year… between high school and college could be tempting to students who are not ready to transition to the next level of education. And there are many ways to fill the deferred freshman year. You could travel. Get a job. Pursue a passion that has nothing to do with your professional or academic aspirations. You could breathe.
What’s to stop a student from taking such a hiatus? Society, for one. In
Read the full story in The New York Times: The Choice
Front Page Feature: Global Citizen Year in the SF Chronicle
Published on 09/04/2012 in San Francisco Chronicle
Lucy Blumberg was the classic Lowell High School student.
The San Francisco teen strove for straight A’s and fell short by one B – in driver’s education - and was accepted into the prestigious Northwestern University, her first step to becoming a doctor.
But by the time the college acceptance letter arrived in the mailbox, Blumberg realized she was burned out.
She still wanted to go to college, but not yet.
So Blumberg joined a growing number of American teens taking a yearlong break from homework, midterms and textbooks and headed to West Africa to work in health clinics.
…
Read the full story in San Francisco Chronicle
Fast Company Features Global Citizen Year
Published on 07/06/2012 in Fast Company
When Global Citizen Year founder Abby Falik was 18, she wanted to enroll in the Peace Corps instead of going straight to college. “I was a good student, but ready to do something real in the world before continuing on to more school, and the Peace Corps says, ‘See you in four years, go to college first,’” she remembers. “So I’ve been sort of fixated since then on the irony that when you’re 18 in this country, you can join the military, you can join some sort of religious mission and go abroad, but there’s no way to do global…
Read the full story in Fast Company
Bridge Year
Published on 03/04/2012 in The Boston Globe
The bridge year, a popular option overseas and among children of the 1 percent, should become a widely available, actively encouraged option in America. It would be better for students, and in the long term, for the nation.
Historically, the bridge year was something only the wealthy could afford, but a year off does not need to be an unbearable financial burden. Global Citizen Year, for example, offers amazing world-learning experiences in places like Brazil and Senegal to participants and also offers financial aid.…
Read the full story in The Boston Globe
Teach for the World
Published on 03/10/2010 in New York Times
Nicholas Kristof highlights Global Citizen Year as a model for engaging young Americans in global issues, and says: “Fewer than 30 percent of Americans have passports, and only one-quarter can converse in a second language. And the place to learn languages isn’t an American classroom but in the streets of Quito or Dakar or Cairo.”…
Read the full story in New York Times
A Student’s ‘Gap Year’ Need Not Break The Bank
Published on 01/21/2011 in The Associated Press
If students are attracted to high-priced programs, like working on a foreign development project, there are ways to lower the price. For instance, Global Citizen Year, a San Francisco-based organization that places students in Senegal, Ecuador and Brazil, offers scholarships to help defray the cost. The two-year-old program looks at the same financial aid forms required by colleges and offers assistance on a sliding scale, said CEO Abby Falik. A third of its 33 participants is on full scholarship and another third have partial grants.…
Read the full story in The Associated Press
Global Citizen Year: An Alternative Peace Corps
Published on 10/13/2011 in Wisconsin Public Radio
Abby Falik was dismayed when she discovered she couldn’t join the Peace Corps after graduating from high school only because she hadn’t yet turned eighteen. So she started a Peace Corps of her own. Listen to the interview with Abby on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Here on Earth” show.…
Read the full story in Wisconsin Public Radio
“For GCY” from Andrew Fitzgerald of Current TV
Published on 10/30/09 in Current TV
Global Citizen Year (GCY) is just starting up this year and its first round of fellows have recently embarked for Guatemala and Senegal. I invited them to share some of their experiences with us here to the Current News Blog and we’ve got some of their responses back already.…
Read the full story in Current TV
Pop!Tech Boot Camp for Innovators
Published on 09/16/08 in The New York Times
Pop!Tech…, an annual conclave in Camden, Me., that explores technology and ideas that are shaping humanity’s journey, is inaugurating a three-day boot camp of sorts for young entrepreneurs trying to make the world a better place.
Read the full story in The New York Times