Lessons for life

Like many high school seniors, Virginia Winn had options for after graduation in 2017. 

Thirteen options, to be exact. 

She was considering 13 different colleges to attend after her time at Mountain Brook High School, and the list of choices prompted a meeting with her high school counselor.

“I had looked at 13 schools, and was like, ‘Oh shoot, I don’t know where to go,” she said. So her counselor presented her with a 14th option: don’t go to college just yet. Instead, intern and travel with a gap year program.

Winn went through a list of programs and picked one that “just kind of stuck out to me.” Her main criteria when looking at a program was whether or not it would take her to Africa, and that led her to the Kivu Gap Year. The program listed experiences such as working with refugees in Colorado and interning in Rwanda.

She met with a girl who had completed a similar program that offered work and learning experiences, and her decision was made. Winn had her reasons for not wanting to go to college just yet and used those reasons to “try to convince my parents” that the gap year would be a good choice.

“I don’t like sitting in class, I’m a terrible test taker, that kind of thing,” she said. 

She also didn’t feel as if she was ready for college and thought going to a university with no direction would be a waste, both of time and money. But a gap year could help her grow as an individual and a member of the community.

Once her parents understood what she would be doing, they were on board, Winn said. 

“People think you’re going to watch Netflix for a year,” she said, citing one of the many misconceptions about gap years. Winn’s year, however was anything but watching TV for hours on end. She likened it to a year of college, both in cost and experiences.

After picking the general layout of her schedule — she was able to choose between a few destinations throughout the year — Winn set off to Denver after graduation. There, Winn said, she and other gap year students experienced the main “internship portion” of the program. She worked at the Denver Center for International Studies, an elementary school in Colorado.

“That was interesting,” she said, adding that it gave her the opportunity to work in a classroom. “I love the kids, but I definitely realized I don’t know if I want to teach anymore.”

Winn also had weekly classes through the program and worked at the Denver Rescue Mission in the refugee department, mentoring refugees who were new to the city. 

“I learned a lot about refugees and like, transitioning from another country,” she said. 

That transition is something she would experience first-hand in the coming months because by the beginning of 2018, Winn was headed to the Middle East and Africa.

She and her classmates frequently traveled, she said, and visited Jordan, Bethlehem, Israel, Palestine, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, among other sites. Together, they rafted the Nile River, went on numerous weekend trips, learned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the history and cultures of different countries.

Winn didn’t have an internship until she got to Rwanda, where she worked at Husbo Ltd., a translation and interpretational company.

“Their idea of work is not what we think of work, I guess,” she said. “America is a lot more of a work-based environment. They’re [more focused on] just being.”

The company didn’t have a lot for her to do, Winn said, but she learned the weight that positive relationships carry in Rwanda. It was OK if someonedidn’t cross every item off their to-do list that day because, chances are, they had a meaningful conversation with someone or made a new friend. 

“It’s a lot more relationship-based, which I really appreciate,” she said. She was able to build a relationship with her host family, as well, with whom she still talks.

Living abroad was a little bit of a culture shock for her — as were taking bucket showers daily and adjusting to food in Africa — and there were plenty of times she missed home or was worried she was going to miss the college experiences her friends were having. But it was worth it.

At the end of her time in Africa, Winn, along with her fellow gap year students, summited Mount Kilimanjaro. Not long after, they were back in Colorado where it all began.

By December of her gap year, she had made her decision to attend the University of Alabama in fall 2018. But something made her change her mind. 

“Now that I look back on it, I think I picked that school because it was easier [for me],” she said. It was close to home and in a familiar setting with familiar people. “While in Africa, I realized [what] I had done this year, and I was just going right back to where I came from.” 

She remembered the love she had for Colorado and instead chose to attend Colorado State University this fall. Winn credits the gap year with helping her develop her passions and interests and is going to use her new-found knowledge of herself to pick out her classes.

“If I hadn’t done this year, I wouldn’t be going where I’m going … It definitely has given me the motivation to want to learn,” she said. “I feel like I’m a lot more ready.”

She said a gap year might not be for everyone, but for those who are considering taking a gap year or want to look into it, to just do it. 

“If you’re thinking about it and really considering it, then there’s probably a reason why,” she said.

And Winn said she took away one, overarching theme from her experiences that will accompany her for life: “People are people. Denver people and Middle Eastern people and Rwandans are all so different, but we’re all so similar, too.”