Crushing College: The Parachute Gap Year Amidst a Pandemic

Welcome, everyone. Joining us on YouTube and Facebook Live. Really excited about the conversation we're going to have today with Rutledge long the founder of and director of Parachute, which provides essentially gap programming for students before they enter college. But Rutledge first. Welcome to the show, if you will. Thrilled to see you.

Thanks so much, Michael. It's a pleasure to be here. And neat to finally have conversation with you after all the interaction on LinkedIn.

Well, that's right. So Rutledge and I, for those tuning in that don't know, he and I have had a long set of exchanges since my book Choosing College came out. Just about what Parachute is doing about some of his thoughts on passion and purpose and developing that and so forth. And for listeners and viewers tuning in right now, what I'd love to start out with is just tell us, what is Parachute? Let's start there.

Yeah. Parachute is a set of experiential education programs for students that are transitioning into college as well as out of college. And our mission is to equip students for lifelong learning and fulfilling careers. We're a nonprofit organization. We're based in Nashville, Tennessee. And we really want to bring practical, relevant, impactful education back to the forefront of what is served up and delivered for our youth. So they can be identifying things like what is their pathway, what is their purpose, what are the things they like and don't like to do, and how can they navigate a complex world that is ever changing?

And I've read that you, that sort of spark for this came out of studies you were doing as a master's student, I think, at Vanderbilt, I believe. Can you tell us more about the spark for this?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it was, it was kind of a personal motivated thing as well as a data driven thing. You know, I was a student that kind of took a traditional, you know, prep school background, had gone to know nice high schools and colleges, and really found, especially in college that, I don't know, there's so much I didn't learn that I've learned as an adult and that I've had to learn through experience. And so I thought I was the only kid in the world that had taken, you know, five and a half years to graduate college. My goodness, what are you doing? And then come to find out the average American student takes six that, you know, some 30% of undergrads change their major at least once. You know, 40% of bachelor's degrees holder would try a different major. You've got 25% of students in college that have been diagnosed or treated for a mental health disorder in the past year. On and on. I could go on all day with the number of alarming statistics that just jumped off the page. And so, you know, I was just thinking, wow, I wasn't the only student that had done really well in high school and went on and struggled a lot in college. And I had done a gap year myself, sort of in between sophomore and junior year. And it was really transformational experience for me. And as we surveyed the landscape of what was being offered in terms of gap year experiences in the US I felt that there was an opportunity to innovate and create something new and different that would provide some value.

So I'd love to get into that now. First, I guess tell us what parachute sort of the core program. You have a few different flavors of it obviously, but what's the core program? What does it offer? And then maybe situate that. What differentiates it from the other curated gap year programs or gap experiences that exist out there?

Cool. Yeah. So we have two programs like I mentioned, one for students leaving high school and heading to the next level and one for students that are exiting college and looking ahead. The program for high school students is going to be in person, Experiential Education in Nashville. It's a semester long, we'll start with this fall and so you'll be with us for about three months. It's really centered around internships, mentoring and personal self development. So we teach things like personal finance. Students are going to be working on hobbies, whether they be cooking or whatever it might be. They're looking to really develop their interests, as interests are a sign of growing strength, which is something that we believe. And so yeah, we take them through four phases. We can dive into a little bit more, but they move through modules that we call Connect, Discover, Engage, and then finally launch as they transition into what's next. And then for college seniors, we're really helping them optimize everything about their job search. So from sharpening the language that they have to describe themselves, their understanding of themselves through some holistic self assessments that we do, to connecting them via one on one zoom coffees or Skype chats, whatever you want to call them, with actual professionals that are in aspirational career fields for them, we really put them in the interviewer seat to get to know those people, to connect, be networking intentionally. We teach them how to follow up, follow through, expand their network so that they don't feel like Covid has to put their aspirations on hold, that they can be Empowered to proactively take steps towards the pathways where they, where they'll be most purpose filled and enjoying life. And so we do, you know, it's a lot about that sort of knowledge of self connecting to the mentors. And then we do, you know, personal finance and, you know, optimize their resume, make sure that their LinkedIn is really tight and working well. So again, it's practical, it's relevant and we really think it's, we know that based on the pilots that we've done that this is gonna change lives.

And how does it. I mean, one thing that jumps out to me from what you just described is a lot of gap year programs that exist that curate that experience. Right. They have a study abroad component or they have a component where you go to another country and you're working or you're volunteering or something like yours is all domestic. Is that the big distinction between other gap year programs?

Yeah, I mean, that is a big one. You know, I loved again, I went to New Zealand for my gap year. I had an absolute blast. I was backpacking with a really well known gap organization. Yeah, it's been 100 days in the, in the New Zealand bush. I mean, fantastic, right? And it was life changing at the same time as I reflected on what I would do differently if I were designing my own gap year. And as we looked at, you know, what would be good for students and you know, I loved my instructors, for example, I was never in touch with them again after the trip. I love backpacking, but, you know, there's only, you know, there are takeaways, certainly leadership lessons that you learn in the backcountry that are relevant in say, an office space or, you know, virtual remote team to be more current with the times. But we thought, you know, it's great that you can learn those lessons in the backcountry. And they translate. Why not learn them in the place where they're actually going to be experienced? And you know, I think there's a lot of words like global citizen and things like that that are thrown around and that's fantastic. You know, for students that want to spend nine months in, you know, in a developing country and serving, I mean, that's a really important and powerful decision that students can make about their life and their future. And you know, we're not, we're not ashamed to be very different and say, you know, hey, most of your life will be spent at work. Let's make sure that we're doing everything that we can to put you on a path where you're going to be loving what you do. Far too many Americans accept less than average for their work life and it's sort of humdrum. Whatever I get is kind of what people are just accustomed to. And I want students to understand that they can really design their own life. But it doesn't happen just by accident. So that's really where we're stepping in and we're talking about things that other programs haven't been.

Yeah, so that seems, it seems super important because I think a big takeaway for me from the research we did in writing choosing College was that what's important isn't per se where you go or sort of the specific circumstances of the experience, but actually being able to go through a variety of experiences, learning what you like and don't like. So that you can say, I want more of this, less of that, and so forth, and then shape your next actions accordingly is sort of the principle that I think carries through a lot of these programs. But from what I'm hearing from you say is you make that very explicit in the, in the program itself.

Yeah, it's very explicit. I mean, you know, it's a buffet of experiences that they're going to have. You know, I did my trip and there was, you know, my experiences were whitewater canoeing and backpacking and mountaineering and you know, your experiences with parachute bridge, you know, there's going to be like an Iron Chef competition, right? You're going to be practicing your cooking. We're going to actually give students money, $500. Each student will have to start an investment account. We want this thing to literally pay for itself over time. It's another reason that we're non profit. So I don't know if there may be folks that would be interested in mentoring or sponsoring a student, but mentor philanthropists are our most important supporters. They not only contribute to invest financially in the lives of our students, but they're also committing their time to get to know them. And it also enables us to increase the quality of student that we serve. And so, you know, I think gap years have been heavily stigmatized in American culture. There is a lot of forces that fight against it. There's, you know, the conception that, you know, you're going to get left behind or my college won't like that I do that, or my parents think it's a waste of money or this is a very privileged thing. And so we really want to swim upstream against that current and suggest that robust experiential learning is the most transformational vehicle that we have the best tool in our tool shed, and that all students will be better served by getting more of those experiences. So we're trying to bring a whole community around this vision and say we're putting our stake in the ground. COVID 19 just so happened to. To create a bigger opportunity for us to feature what it is that we've been working on. But, you know, we've had a team of PhDs, ed. Ds, master's students, workforce development gurus and the like that designed this curriculum, spent an awful lot of time really optimizing what would be good for students and focus grouping with students to see what they would actually sign up to do and parents to see what they would finance. And so we're excited to bring to bear what we have. But it is about just trying things and maybe even things you don't like and figuring out what you do and don't like so that, again, you can go to college or whatever the next step might be with greater confidence, with greater reason for being there and feeling like you made that decision on your own instead of, you know, to use your jobs to be done theory, doing what's expected of you, which to me is the greatest tragedy in our education system, is when I talk to people and we learn it so young. Michael. Oh, I have to read this or I have to do that. I have to do this. And people feel like they're just passengers in their education, and it's being driven by tyrant conductors. And I want students to understand, hey, you know, never before have we had so many opportunities directly at our fingertips. Never before have we been able to curate our own lives in the way that we would desire to. And so, you know, now is the time to start thinking about, not that you have to have your whole life planned out, but start thinking about, what's my next step then? What's my next step?

So I want to get into Covid in a second and sort of how that shifted both for you, but also maybe the larger higher ed ecosystem and how students and families fit into that. But. But a question before that, which is based on what you've described, sort of one other thing is jumping out to me. One is obviously domestic as opposed to the international. Two, some of the experiences you're describing are actually shorter than a full year. Right. Of nine months, you're talking about, I think, six to nine weeks you just described, if my mental math is right, yeah.

August 30th to November 23rd.

Okay, so a little longer than that.

90 days we also have a virtual program that's going to be less than a month. Those are two different options.

So I guess what I'm curious is, does this start to the way you've envisioned this? Does this start to increase the accessibility of these programs to more people across the country potentially than could participate in something that required a significant lift to send you abroad and so forth?

Yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, we had an abroad component that was planned prior to Covid. And, you know, upon reflection, once international travel became, you know, dicey, we really had to refine our mission and think about, you know, what is. What is our true purpose here. And we saw that, you know, while traveling to Ecuador and living in host with host families down there would certainly be really transformational experience. It was almost like we were kind of doing what was expected of us as a gap year program. And that wasn't exactly what we needed. And moreover, it was an expense that wasn't 100% necessary. We think the virtual programming is going to open up a lot of doors. I mean, just the cost of delivering that programming is so much more affordable for families. And we feel like we can really deliver a premium product one on one. It's not mass produced. Everything we do is highly customized. We are definitely unashamedly more a mom and pop small business than a big tech firm or something like that that's really trying to make major waves. We want to be selective and we want people that are choosing us to be choosy as well and looking for a little more sort of heightened level of personalization and customization. You know, you're getting my personal contacts, my personal network as part of this. And so I have to be intentional about who we're bringing in. But, you know, Covid has changed everything for a lot of people. I'd be curious, you know, just to know, you know, from your perspective, Michael, what are you seeing as far as gap year? You know, how I know? Heard you and Jeffrey on the Future youe Podcast talking about, you know, some colleges are really tightening the belt and saying, hey, you can take a gap year, but we can't guarantee a spot. And some things like that. Right. Which I feel like it's just such unsavory pressure, especially when colleges know that they're really clinging to enrollments. But what do you see happening in the gap space? Is this, you know, truly a growing opportunity? Is this a fad that's in the limelight and how do you envision it might change going forward?

Yeah, well, first, well done. You said on LinkedIn that you were going to turn the tables and interview me. So you just did it. But the second. So to answer the question, you know, look, I think no one fully knows still, right? But it's becoming clearer that a lot of campuses are not going to be open business as usual in the fall. Even if they do, it will be a modified experience, I think it's safe to say. And so a lot of students are going to opt out, even if they could go, that is their campus is open. I think a bunch of them are going to say we don't have the finances anymore to do it. And the colleges don't necessarily have the financial aid to support us all the way like they did before because we've had a lot of financial family's finances wrecked, obviously, but also the schools themselves wrecked. And so I think sort of all those dynamics point to the fact that we're going to have 10 to potentially 20% of students not show up in the fall for college and go into some sort of gap experience. Now, the question is, do they curate that experience to have a variety of experiences and learn about themselves, or do they sort of sit back and try and do nothing? Do they sit back and take one job, perhaps one internship, if they're able to get it? And in this current environment, I think it's a big question, what will they do with that time? And I think my argument, and obviously your argument and others in the space has been don't make it a, you know, don't view it as a gap year. View it as a discovery year, a year on purpose to really discover who you are and so forth. But I think it's still tbd, how that's going to play out. And colleges right now, they're posturing, in my opinion. You know, all the talk of we will be open in the fall no matter what happened. A lot of that talk occurred the week before May 1st. That's the date when deposits are due for most colleges to hold a spot in the class. I think we'll see another round of bragging, if you will, that we will be open the week before June 1, because a bunch of colleges push that date back to June 1st. And so I think you'll see another, you know, many presidents come out and say, you know, we're going to be open. We promise June 1st will pass. And then I think we'll start to see what's actually happening. Now, I do think some colleges will say, you don't want to come, fine, we're not holding the spot you can reapply. I think that's going to be really interesting for the class of 2021 from high school, what that does. But, you know, still, I think a lot of students aren't going to pay a large price tag for a virtual experience that lacks all of the social features that college has. And I think as people step back, what they're going to realize more acutely perhaps, than society does today. College isn't just about the classes. It's about all the other stuff that comes with it, at least for a certain kind of college. Right. Community colleges are different. Online universities are different. It's a different experience that they're selling.

But.

But that's my instinct. One other thought that I just want to jump on because it's been interesting to see a bunch of commentators come out with a variety of other ideas, like a tutoring core, a Corona corps to help on the health care front lines. I think these are great ideas. Some folks have pushed the idea of national service also amidst this, which a lot of other countries do. It's interesting hearing you talk about. The obligation mindset that creeps into students from a very early on, like, I have to read this. I have to do this math. I have to go to college. What we described as the doing what's expected of me. It's one of the reasons I'm very wary of making it a mandated year of service. And instead, how do we create a brand, if you will, that's such compelling experiences that for those who want to do it and want to discover more about themselves that they do it, I think it should become a norm rather than the exception, for sure. But I'm very wary of requiring it, I think, because it could become just another compliance or expectation as opposed to deep purpose finding. What's your take on that?

That's right. I think it needs to become sort of like the way that college is. It's not required that students, but it's highly aspirational and it's viewed as something that can accelerate your growth, lead to bigger and better opportunities, and, you know, be a formative part of the journey of, you know, sophisticated and reasonable intellectual person. And, you know, more and more, I think it's also just becoming widespread. You know, this is your sort of birthright, which is dangerous. Right. Because then it creeps into almost, you know, tacitly mandatory.

Yes.

If we can. You know, I'm not trying to get all rah rah patriotic here, but this is the United States of America. I think we should pride ourselves on our freedom and on our creativity. And that's what a gap year is about. It's about discovery, it's about growth, freedom, creativity. And so, you know, if we can just take a minute and step back and say, you know, what does the research show? Does it show that it's good for students to take a year and, and work or to take a year and travel or travel and work or curate this experience? And in what way might we allow some self actualization as adults if we were to do that? I think more and more we're seeing this creeping helicopter mentality of parenting, lawnmower, whatever you want to call it, but it's stunting adulthood, Michael. That's the problem is our expectation of when someone is an adult is now, you know, 26 maybe it's sort of creeped up from 17 to 26 over the past 50 years. And now we still refer to 21, 22 year old men and women as kids. Which I think is, you know, it's sort of like I remember being a kid and there was a, you know, I went to a private Christian high school and the pastor was a Vietnam war veteran and he was a really interesting guy. But the one thing that he said that really stuck with me is, you know, how are you reckoning others? How are you reckoning them? Are you thinking of them as being, you know, dangerous, unsafe? Are you thinking of them as being inspirational? You know, lovely, wonderful. Because the way that you reckon someone has a lot to do with their behavior. And I think that what we're doing right now is we're, we're reckoning 18 to 23 year olds as immature and as, you know, childish and they're living in patience. And so, yeah, just like I think there's opportunities for us to create an expectation as a society that hey, this is the best thing to do and you can do it cost neutrally. You don't need to go to parachute bridge and spend a lot of money to do it. There's ways, you know, and this is why we offer a coaching service. You know, for $100 a month, you know, we will coach your student towards designing a purposeful experience of their own that they can do from home or wherever. And I think there's just got to be more of that because then they'll go to college and they'll be going to college because they want to and they won't become a statistic and be one of the 1/3 of students that never make it to sophomore year or one of the, you know, Many students that take six years to graduate. So I think there's a lot of good to be gained even from colleges, from this. More engaged students.

Yeah, so that's where I was going to go for the last question that I have, which is, as we think about helping this moment not become, not be fleeting and gap years becoming much more the norm. Aspirational was your word. I think that's a good word. What's the potential for colleges to become partners in this work? In your mind? Is that something? Is that. Are those conversations that you've had and what would that look like in your opinion? Because I think you're right. It actually would be better for colleges in the longer run because you'd have more people persisting, knowing why they're there, excited about the work and the opportunity and graduating, which on all ends would be better for the colleges than what the current situation is.

Yeah, that's a great question. And you know, you know that certain gap years are partnering with colleges and that's taking a few different shapes. I mean, you have organizations like Global Citizen Year that do not offer college credit, but they have, you know, partnered from a brand perspective with a number of really selective institutions. You've also had them surprisingly drive the narrative, which I hope changes that gap years must be international. So places like University of North Carolina at Chapel hill, they give $7,500 scholarships to students that choose to take a gap year. But one of the prerequisites is that it has to be international, which I think is a mistake and I hope changes.

Yeah, I agree.

Something else that I think is happening, that we know is happening is peddling credit. And so there's colleges that need money, there's students that understand that their parents the biggest currency is college credit. And so they offer as part of their gap experience the opportunity to earn credit. I did that. I got some credits from the University of Utah that Bowdoin turned their nose up and didn't accept. But I think there was some sort of level of assurance from my parent unit that, oh, it's college credit. You know, it's got to be pretty decent experience. And so I think, you know, that's something I hope to also sort of see change from like, you know, we're just peddling credit to, you know, colleges that create their own unique gap experiences, maybe even in the city where the college is located and have a non academic first year experience. Overall, I think we can definitively say that general education is dead, that it is done, that putting students in an auditorium and Lecturing to them ad nauseam while they scroll through their Instagram feeds isn't helping anyone. And it is the number one reason why students drop out. It's not engaging, it's not intellectually stimulating. Nothing about that is good for students or even colleges. And so we've got to change the game and do better with what the first year experience looks like. What we need to be inspiring, waking up learners and thinkers and driving people towards purpose rather than creating passengers on a giant train to nowhere. And so that might sound like tough, high blown language, but that's how passionate I am that the first year experience has to change. And so I hope colleges will lead the way in putting all of their incredible resources and talent and the brains that belong in these institutions towards reimagining what's possible when the gap mentality and the college mentality can come together. Because I still believe that college is the great equalizer in terms of providing opportunities. And to me it would be a tragedy if we were to lose that. But right now there's a crisis of confidence that higher education is delivering what students need. And I think the gap mentality of reimagining purpose and helping empower students is something that needs to show up from day one of that experience.

That's a terrifically passionate way to leave it and make the case. Rutledge, thank you so much for coming on. I've left the link there below so that people can go to your site, check it out, learn more. But deeply appreciate the work you're doing and being on with me today.

Michael, you're the man. Look forward to catching up. I didn't get to do nearly as much interviewing if you. I've got a whole.

We'll have other opportunities.

I appreciate it so much and look forward to following up.

Yeah, awesome. Hey, appreciate it very much and thanks to all of you for watching and tuning in.