As other seniors prepare for college, Grace Randolph prepares to revisit senior year with a twist: in Spain.
“I’m not upset about another year in high school. Obviously, it’s going to be different,” Grace said.
Through the Youth for Understanding exchange program, Grace will fly to Spain in August and spend the next year with a host family, attending high school there and attempting to revel in the culture. According to the program’s website, the hope for students who participate are for them to immerse themselves in the local community and build bridges between cultures and countries during the year.
“You eat what they eat. You’ll celebrate holidays with them. It’s immersion in that there’s not an American alternate,” Grace said. “I’ll be surrounded by them.”
When she thinks about her upcoming journey, Grace has mixed emotions.
“There’s a lot. Obviously, I’m super excited. I know it’s going to be a great experience and everything, but I’m nervous. I’m going to get there in a country where I won’t know anyone, where I don’t speak the language fluently,” Grace said. “I’m usually pretty calm, but sometimes I’ll be doing something and I’ll think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m doing this.’”
Grace chose to do the program in order to gain a greater comprehension of Spanish language and culture, and to have something to do while waiting for her scholarship to Washington University in St. Louis to take effect. Grace’s mother, who works at the university, only needs to work there two more years before this scholarship is available. However, the main reason Grace chose to participate is to better understand herself and her life goals.
“It’s important for me to gain that life perspective,” Grace said. “I want to think about what I want to do with college.”
Although she is excited for the experience, Grace does not encourage everyone to take a gap year. Abby Peterson, college counselor, agreed.
“For some people, it’s an eye-opening experience. For others, I wouldn’t recommend it,” Peterson said. “Some people just don’t gain anything from it.”
Although she thinks gap years depend on the person, Grace believes everyone should find time to travel and experience something new in order to gain a greater understanding of people beyond the boundaries of their hometown and nation.
“I think they should try to understand other cultures,” Grace said. “I think that’s what’s important about it, to learn tolerance.”
