News & Press
Dear Malia Obama, Thank You for Taking a Gap Year Before College
2017-02-14
Dear Malia, When you announced your decision last spring to take a “gap year” before attending Harvard University I was impressed and excited. It’s not easy to make a choice that goes directly against the prevailing norm, but you did. The momentum of the K-16 conveyor belt that shuttles kids from high school directly to...
Read MorePreparing Young Leaders
2017-02-03
Originally published in The New York Times on 2/1/2017. To the Editor: In “The Politics of Cowardice” (column, Jan. 27), David Brooks addresses high school and college students, and rightly so. Today’s young adults are especially vulnerable to the “mean wind” that’s blowing, but whether we allow them to get swept up in the gust...
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Abby Falik, Founder and President of Global Citizen year, Joins Denver Frederick
2016-12-09
The following is a conversation between Abby Falik, Founder and President of Global Citizen Year, and Denver Frederick, Host of The Business of Giving on AM 970 The Answer in New York City. Denver: Many of us who went to college look back at those years as some...
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How Taking a Gap Year Can Shape Your Life
2016-12-09
Looking back, adults who took time off before or during college say they have no regrets. By RON LIEBER OCT. 19, 2016 If your teenager is talking about taking a year away from the classroom between high school and college, you may have Malia Obama to thank for that. But if they’re not yet talking...
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The ‘gap year’ not just for rich kids anymore
2016-09-23
Katie Couric and Yahoo! News released an incredible feature on Global Citizen Year! Check out the video below to see how we are re-imagining the ‘gap year’ as a launch pad for global citizens – and how top colleges are taking notice. By Katie Couric When the White House announced that Malia Obama would be...
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How to take a gap year overseas when you’re not wealthy
2016-07-13
By Joanna Nesbit My first year in college, I was lonely, lacking direction and supremely worried about money. A first-generation student paying my own way, I had no idea how I would fund year two without subsisting on loans, even in 1982-dollar days. Quite simply, I yearned to travel the world, and three more...
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Malia Obama is taking a ‘gap year’ before attending Harvard — here’s why that’s a great idea
2016-05-05
By Jeremy Berke The White House announced announced Saturday that Malia Obama will attend Harvard as a member of the class of 2021 — after taking a year off before her freshman year, otherwise known as a “gap year.” Gap years are gaining in popularity among American students, as the New York Times reports. For example, Harvard has seen a...
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How To Have A Successful Gap Year — Tips For Malia Obama And Other High School Grads
2016-05-03
By Anya Kamenetz Imagine your bright young son or daughter comes to you, high school mortarboard in hand, and says, “Mom, Dad, I’m not going to college next year.” What’s your reaction? If you’re the commander in chief or first lady, the answer is, reportedly, supportive. Their older daughter, Malia Obama, made headlines this week...
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Why more teens like Malia Obama are taking a gap year
2016-05-03
President Barack Obama’s eldest daughter Malia announced plans to take a gap year before she attends Harvard in 2017, an idea that is taking hold among more and more students. In 2015, 30-40,000 students took a year off after graduating high school, a 20 percent jump. William Brangham talks to Joe O’Shea of Florida State...
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