LetsGapp: Connecting Gappers during COVID

Welcome to the future of education. I'm Michael Horne, joined today by Elaine Carbonda, a first year student or an entering student at Columbia University. I'm not sure how to refer to these things in these Covid times when schools are not together in person. We'll get into that and more today. But Elaine caught my attention when she reached out with an email to talk about a program that she started called let's Gap, which I'll put the website up here right now. Very neat program. Program to connect gappers folks taking gap years around the world. Really and incredibly needed, obviously, right now. And Elaine, first, welcome. And second, I'd love you to start even before the gap year. Just tell us about a little bit about yourself because you obviously you graduated high school, took a gap year, saw this need, now enrolling. But first, give us a sense of who you are, where you grew up and things like that.

Yeah, of course. So I'm from New York and I'll be going to Columbia University. Well, I actually just started a few days ago, so that's very exciting. But I graduated from high school in 2019, after which I took a gap year, which of course we will get into more later. But I've always been interested in entrepreneurship and kind of finding like solutions to the problems that I see or that others see. So that's also how let's Gap was created, from a problem that I face and a lot of other gappers faced. But yeah, I'm excited to start college even though it's in Covid. I'm sure we'll all be able to make the most of it. And we're all kind of getting used to Zoom University, as we call it.

Yeah, Zoom you indeed. Right. Right now. But so I'm curious, take us inside that gap year experience. Like I guess even before the gap year experience. You're in senior year. When did you first think, gee, a gap year? Something I want to. What was the first thought that this might be something that you did instead of going straight to school?

Yeah, so I've always, I love school, but I've also had interests outside of school that don't really fit into a specific class. So entrepreneurship. And also I was very involved in the sneaker community. So I throughout high school I would buy sneakers and then resell them because the rare sneakers you can resell for a larger profit. So I would do that throughout high school and then I wanted to take a gap year because I've always loved traveling and also to focus on my other interests outside of the classroom. So that was my mindset going into the gap year, just to experience more of the world, too, and take some time off, because I had that time after I knew where I was going to school. So that was when I decided to take a gap year. I think I decided in 10th grade that I would be interested in it. And then once I was done with the college process, I kind of finalized that decision, said, okay, I'm going to take the leap and I'm going to take a gap year.

So were you already into Columbia and you told them, hey, I'm going to defer for a year, or how did that conversation go?

Yeah, they were pretty lenient about deferrals. So I was accepted to Colombia, and then I just asked to defer a year. And so you have to submit, like, an application and tell them what you plan to do, and then you can defer.

So that's a perfect launching point. What did you decide to do with that year off?

Yeah, so I worked. I spent the whole summer working in New York City and saving up money. And I also decided to plan my travels in advance because I knew I wanted to travel a lot this year and then also work on other projects, which ended up being let's Gap. So I spent the summer working in New York in September. At the end of September, I went to Italy for a month, and I went hiking there. Then I lived in India in New Delhi for about a month and a half because my dad is from India, so we still have relatives who live there. So I wanted to experience. That's a part of my heritage that I never really had the chance to explore before. So I lived in India for a month and a half, and then I was home in New York City for the holidays. And then starting in the end of December, I had planned to hike in Patagonia and kind of travel a bit around South America. Yeah, it took a lot of planning over the summer because it was planning about, like, six months by the day. So I know most people. Well, not most people, but it's definitely a popular option to not plan it out that much. But I think that's just what I decided to do. Which, looking back on it, I didn't have to plan it out that much, but I am glad that I did. So I did that. And then in January, I went to Antarctica, actually, for two weeks, which had been a dream of mine for, like, 10 years. So I was very, very excited to do. I think it froze. Okay. And then after that, in March, I ended up getting stuck in New Zealand for five months because of COVID 19. And I just got back at the beginning of August, so clearly not what I had expected at the end of the year. But it worked out definitely pretty well.

It's an incredible set of experiences. And I should have asked the question differently. At first I said year off, but one of my big arguments has been that a gap year really should be seen as a year on purpose, a year of discovery to figure out who you are and sort of be blazing with purpose when you come into college and able to take more advantage of the experience.

So.

So I'm curious, in that work experience, that set of travel experiences, my daughters are going to be insanely jealous that you got to go to Antarctica. What were the big lessons that you took from it? What are the big learnings? And then we'll get into, obviously, let's gap that you started during the year.

Yeah, I think when a lot of students first say that they're taking a gap year, it's sometimes met with, you know, an excuse to slack off or not, you know, push yourself. But I think it's the opposite, you know, from our whole lives, if you go to school from kindergarten through 12th grade, you're. You're pushing yourself, but you're pushing yourself academically. And so by the end of graduating 12th grade, you kind of know how to do that. So I took this year as an opportunity to push myself and to grow in terms of my interpersonal skills, my mental health strength, you know, just trying to seek discomfort and step out of the box and take those risks that I usually might not be able to take because I have so much. So many other commitments going on. And so I did. I. That's not to say that I didn't do anything academic, because during lockdown, I was able to also explore other interests that I hadn't been able to explore before because I never had time. So I took an online course on polar research, which is something that I, after going to Antarctica, I'm really fascinated by. But I think it's. You're growing on a gap year, but you're growing in a different way. And that's why going into it with a mindset of what you want to achieve from it is, I think, very important.

When you laid out those goals up front, I'm curious, like, how did you lay out those expectations of I want to achieve, you know, these things? What did that look like, that process and specifically those goals?

I mean, so there's some goals that, you know, going into it, you're like, okay, like my goals were I wanted to travel. The goal was to go to seven continents, but because of COVID I didn't make it to Africa, but I did six out of seven continents. So that was not bad, of course, but so there are those kinds of goals. And then in terms of meeting new people, like I want to try going to a hostel for the first time alone and just putting myself out there and making friends with totally different backgrounds and not being scared about that. That's one way that I definitely grew personally. But then as you experience more things, more goals and more opportunities to push yourself in different ways come up.

No, that's terrific. So let's dive in then. And by the way, for folks that are tuning in live, if you have comments, submit them and I'll do my best to ask Elaine the questions that you might have. But let's step back then and talk about, you know, starting. Let's gap. What is it and why, more importantly, did. Did it become an interest of yours and something worth creating? It sounded like it solved the problem you were actually facing.

Yeah, so I, when I was finishing up my senior year, I was enrolled in a sort of Shark Tank based class, so, you know, a pitch deck competition for a startup idea. And so when I was brainstorming ideas, I realized that I might not have this sense of community on my gap year. And as I started thinking about it more throughout the whole gap year, I like tried to find as many people that I knew who were also taking a gap year and like, do market research and figure out if they were feeling the same way. Because what I realized is most of us students, we go straight from kindergarten through high school. And then as soon as you graduate high school, you go into college and maybe you get a job after that. And so you always have a certain affiliation with a social group or other people who share your experiences. But on a gap year, you, especially if you're not doing a program, you don't have that shared group or that affiliation that. So that was what I struggled with on my gap year because there are some, you know, if you're not necessarily sharing your gap year experience, which I think is a very unique experience, instead of just generally traveling. So there's that. So I spoke to a lot of my friends and I decided to, during lockdown, actually decided to go ahead and forge ahead with let's Gap and see what I could create with that and more importantly, see what my fellow gappers and what the new incoming gappers would want and would need and what kind of a tool this could be to help them the most. So a lot of the issues have been like in terms of finding community. And in the US since gap years are not as popular, there's. There are resources, of course, but it might be harder to dig for them, especially if you have. If you haven't done a ton of research on it. So just trying to find. Just to be a hub for gap year information for gap year community, and just any resource and support network that gap year students need.

So I'm actually curious about that because what I've noticed is there are a lot more curated gap year programs that exist now in the US than say a decade ago. Right. Global Citizen Year, Parachute Bridge, like a bunch of these that have popped up to help curate that experience. You made an intentional choice not to do a curated gap year experience. Can you just talk briefly about that choice and then how let's Gap really fills that void that's left when you. When you don't opt into a community?

Yeah, I actually never really thought of or intended to make a curated gap year program, because I know they are. They have some fantastic programs out there and it just really depends on the individual for what kind of program they're interested in, what interests you have. So I was more focused on covering the aspects that maybe a program has community, but once you finish the program, you might not be as involved in that community afterwards. So just kind of filling up the aspects that I struggled with the most and that my friends also had issues finding.

Gotcha. So it looks like your screen's freezing a little bit with connectivity issues, but hopefully we're all good. So yeah, you're back now. So let's dive into. Then deeper in the let's Gap itself. When you say facilitating connections, is that like in person, is that online? Is that sort of message boards that allow people to share tips and sort of have support network? What does that actually look like on the ground and what kind of traction are you starting to see?

Yeah, well, obviously with COVID a lot more students are taking gap years. It's had an insane spike because of COVID and I hope this will turn into a more normal trend even after Covid stops. Because gap years are not as popular in the US as they are in some other countries. But I think around the world, gap years are definitely becoming more popular due to Covid, which is great. But so what we are trying to facilitate now at let's Gap is to enable students around the world. No matter where you are, if you sign up, we just Launched a program called let's Gap Connect. And so that just asks you to fill out a form about yourself, your interests, what you plan on doing on your gap year, and then based on that, you get connected with other gappers who have similar interests or something in common with you so that you have that connection. And especially with COVID Now it's so easy to make friends across the world thanks to Zoom and FaceTime. So location doesn't really matter as long as you are willing to make that connection and talk to those people. But then also another thing that I and my friends found on our gap years is that sometimes we would post something on social media saying I'm in Buenos Aires. And another person on the gap year would say, oh my goodness, I'm here too. And so if someone hadn't initiated that, you wouldn't know that you and one of someone who could be a potential friend are in the same place at the same time. And that's a connection that you miss just because of chance. So to try and eliminate those missed connections is another thing that let's Gap is trying to do. So if there are two people once, you can travel more, if there are two people in the same area, or even now if two people live in the same area, trying to facilitate that connection that might have otherwise not happened.

Makes a ton of sense in the connections that you're facilitating there. I'm curious, you're probably seeing a lot. It sounds like you're seeing a big spike as well on the site with gap years becoming more prevalent this year in a time of COVID obviously. What are people doing for their gap year if they're not doing curated gap year programs? Given the current situation, what are you seeing from the activity on the site?

Yeah, that is the million dollar question, I think. Well, there's a big range, so it depends on how late your college allowed you to take a gap year. Because the people who have known for a long time in advance they have that they're taking gap year have had more time to plan it. Whereas some students who are deciding very last minute might not have had as much time. But so a lot of, well, not a lot, but some programs are still running, but it's just altered. So maybe it's remote or it's domestic travel. So there's definitely that option for students who are interested in that. A lot of students also are trying to travel domestically or maybe move to a new city, which I think are very good options because it doesn't, you know, even though it's not the typical backpacking trip that so many of us associate with the gap year. You can still learn so much from whatever, whatever new situation you put yourself into, I think so, you know, maybe you won't get to do a backpacking trip now, but maybe you won't get to live in a new city another time, you know, so it just, you have to kind of adapt to the current situation and try and make the most of it. And so a lot of students are also doing remote internships or in person internships and jobs as well.

Yeah, I was curious about the online jobs and internships and things like that, if there was a spike. And I guess the other thing I'm curious is do you see more high school graduates volunteering in the community to help on the front lines with, say, senior citizens who are struggling with COVID fears or nursing home concerns? Given that while certainly your generation can spread the virus, you're less affected from a health perspective on it. Are you seeing any of that volunteering going on?

Yeah. So the biggest increase I think that I have seen is political engagement. I have friends who are just finishing up a gap year who have been very involved during their gap years on political campaigns especially. This is more applicable to the US But I think it's overall very important. So they have been working on political campaigns their whole gap year. And now that they have so many new gappers who are looking to get involved and who care deeply about this issue in our country, they are so willing to help out and to make that change that we all want to have.

Yeah, that's super interesting. So I'm curious then fast forwarding now for your experience. You're an entering student or you've enrolled at Columbia, what is that experience like for those of us who went to college in non Covid times because Columbia made the rather, I think it was about a month ago, decision to say, actually we're not opening the campus. This is a remote term. What's that been like? What's the first days like? Give us a little bit of a view into it.

Yeah. So we officially started orientation two days ago. So now it's a lot of. A lot of zoom meetings, a lot of zoom time. But it's, you know, everyone's trying to make the best that they can. And Columbia is still allowing students, so they took away the dorm housing, but they still have the campus open for dining halls and libraries. As long as you get Covid checked and you're like following the requirements. So that's nice. Especially I'm lucky Because I live not too far away from campus, and a lot of students are actually still moving to New York to the campus area, so that they can still get the sense of living in New York City and having some sort of college experience. So clearly it's different than what it usually is, but again, it is what you make of it. And I think there is something to be said for having everything on Zoom because there's a lot of. I think there are a lot more opportunities that you can get from having everything on Zoom than maybe in person, because, you know, distance doesn't matter now. Time zone matters, but it's not, you know, you can talk to someone around the world as long as you schedule it the right time zone. And the transaction cost that you have, like setting up meetings in person is eliminated. So you can really discover a lot more. A lot more new things. And then, you know, you mentioned.

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. I'm curious. I mean, I think Columbia should put you on their guidebook, frankly, because so many people have been commenting on the sense of loss from the transition to this experience. You're actually talking to a lot of the gains. What is gained from a Zoom experience, say, or from doing college a very different way. Can you speak a little bit more to that perspective and where that comes from and your observations around it?

Yeah, I mean, I think all the incoming students and students who have had to deal with, you know, online school during COVID know, we kind of know what we're missing because that's what everyone else has had before. But when you think about it, what are you gaining or what could you gain from this new experience? You know, no one's ever obviously had to really do this before, so how can you tweak it to make it the best that it can be? So I've already been able to attend a lot of, you know, it's like if you have one Zoom meeting for a club from seven to eight, and then you have another one from eight to nine, you're not going to be late to the second one because it's just the click of a mouse. So I think that that has its pros right there.

That's super interesting. So last question for me, which is you're an entrepreneur from shoes to gap years. And so when. What is it like being in college now and running this entrepreneurial venture of let's gap? You know, you're not just helping gap year people on a gap year connect with each other, but you're connecting directly with them, too, through this venture. What is it like juggling these two worlds?

So it's actually they can help each other because a lot of students who are coming into college have taken gap years. Obviously not as many who are taking gap years now, but, you know, students are taking a gap year from their sophomore year, their junior year. So it's more, you know, people who usually would not have taken a gap year are taken one now. So that expands the network even more. And then there's so many motivated and, you know, exciting and interesting people in college now. And now that I'm there, I have access to that whole network of people. And everyone who has just taken a gap year has access to them, too. And so everyone, you know, can make those new connections that they wouldn't have made. So it's. It's a really exciting time, and of course it gets busy, but, you know, it's all worth it because it's stuff that I care about and a lot of us care about as well, so.

Well, that's when entrepreneurs do their best, when they're solving a problem that impacted them personally and that they can help make people's lives better accordingly. So, Elaine, hugely appreciate you taking time out as you're getting started. Freshman year at Columbia. I put the website down there. Let's Gap.com check it out. Especially those who are considering a gap year or in the middle of one, as people have made decisions at the last minute around what their fall plans are. But, Elaine, super appreciate you being here. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It was great speaking with you.

Yeah, appreciate it. And we'll be back. Next time on the Future of Education.