August 24, 2020
By: Admin
By Amelia It feels surreal that, in just over six weeks, this five-and-a-half month period of sitting around at home will finally come to an end. I’ll be stuffing my 65-liter backpack full of the essentials (sleeping bag, sleeping pad,...
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August 10, 2020
By: Leslie
Dear Future Duke Gap Year Student, First off, I want to congratulate you. You have successfully graduated high school. You have been accepted into college. You’ve completed one of the hardest chapters of your life and now you have...
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August 9, 2020
By: Leslie
[caption id="attachment_1284" align="alignleft" width="300"] Group photo taken after watching another Year On student perform stand up comedy. We ended up having to set up outside the actual building on the sidewalk! It's still one of my wildest memories.[/caption] By Olivia...
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August 4, 2020
By: Admin
By McKenna The importance of packing light was apparent within the first few hours of our two-week trekk as I soon regretted bringing five pounds of trail mix. No matter how many times my instructors advised me to pack frugally,...
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July 28, 2020
By: Admin
By McKenna My journey in Nepal started with blue skies of Kathmandu when my Himalayan Group landed on the morning of September 16th. The medieval city of Bhaktapur was home for orientation, where we developed group norms, set personal goals,...
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By: Leslie
By Mackenzie The silver lining I’ve elected to focus on in the midst of this torrential chaos and uncertainty engendered by COVID-19 is the precious, quality time I’ve been able to spend with my family, as the strict quarantine mandate...
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By: Leslie
By Makee At home, I’ve taken to driving around. There’s not much else to do and it’s nice to have some space for myself. I’ve discovered new nooks of neighborhoods I thought I knew and mentally bookmarked interesting houses on...
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July 15, 2020
By: Leslie
By Rollie The sun was scorching, the orange coveralls and red helmet feeling like a lobster shell in which I was being cooked alive. Summitting a small hill, cows scattered in every direction. In front of a small cave, we...
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July 11, 2020
By: Admin
By Anna In my final years of high school, I felt disconnected from the rest of the world, and felt compelled to understand the cultures and traditions of other countries. I wanted to escape my niche and explore the world...
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July 10, 2020
By: Leslie
By Cate I’ll admit it. My spring semester didn’t go as planned. But then again, in this crazy year of 2020, whose spring has? I thought I would still be in Ecuador during this time. I thought I would be...
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