September 2009
The winner of the 2009 gap year scholarship is William (Bill) Doerrfeld from Issaquah, Washington. We were especially impressed by Bill’s passion to participate in his gap year, and his over-the-top efforts to raise the money to make it happen, over $20,000!
Here’s what Bill said about his gap year:
“My mission abroad is to gain new perspectives and insights on life. I believe that with this goal in mind, I will emerge with a clearer definition of my passions, and will apply them to my college selection and career path.”
We hope that everyone’s gap year will do just that and much more!
Bill will be traveling with the program Magic Carpet Rides to Guatemala this coming year. If you’d like to check out Bill’s website, or pass on an additional donation to him, go to www.billgoestoguatemala.com. You can also learn about Magic Carpet Rides at www.magiccarpetrides.com
Runner’s Up:
We would also like to recognize the following runners-up to the Gap Year Scholarship, who were awarded post-gap year “transition coaching” and our “Mapping Out Your Major” package (value $400):
- Kelly Bloomer who will be leaving high school one year early and traveling with Carpe Diem in India this fall, followed by a semester at American University of Paris.
- Sean Kuusinen who has planned a diverse year of activities including a trip to Uganda and Rwanda, a Mountain Orientation Class, working as a ski coach, and apprenticing at an organic farm and Zen Center.
Honorable Mention:
- Saanti Steyer who will be traveling with One Revolution to Guatemala, India, and Uganda.
- Thea Stevens who will be living in Japan for a year, immersed in the culture and language.
- Olivia Boucher who will be working with LEAPNOW in California and traveling to India.
- Abigail Bard who will be spending a year in Japan attending high school and living with a host family.
- Domonique Matlock who will be traveling abroad with LEAP NOW to India.
It was an incredibly tough decision to choose a winner for our scholarship, as we had an exceptional group of gappers, and we wanted to support them all. We added a couple new judges this year to help with the decision: special thanks to Joanna Lasarek from the Center for Interim Programs, and Drew Rabidoux from Launch Coaching.