The Foreign Service Journal, June 2006

64 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 6 S CHOOLS S UPPLEMENT Leysin, Switzerland, but decided on fairly short notice that I wanted to try living in one place for four years in a row,” explains Miller. “Because it was already past the application deadline for U.S. colleges, I needed to use the year to apply during the next cycle.” During her gap year, Miller lived in Zug. “My parents were none too pleased about my decision not to go to hotel school, but said they would be willing to pay for college if I lived on my own that year and found a job,” says Miller. “I worked as a reception- ist for a while, was unemployed for a while, waited tables at the local four- star hotel, and was later rehired to the receptionist position for the rest of my time there.” The Advantages There are several advantages to taking a gap year. Time off can give students an opportunity to plan for the future and clarify their ideas about what they want to do. Miller explains what she learned from her gap year: “I learned the value of $10 (it can buy a week’s worth of food if you use it right). I learned I never want to wait tables again because I am terrible at it. I also learned I wanted my career to be something more intellectually stimu- lating than the work I was able to get with just an international baccalaure- ate and no training. ” During time off, students can gain relevant work experience and new skills. As was true in my own case, people who take gap years meet new people and learn more about them- selves, as well as build confidence. “I am very glad I decided not to go to hotel school,” says Miller. “It was the first time in my life I had a choice about where I would end up, and I am pretty sure I would have been miser- able in the hotel world. It was also a conscious decision to try something other than the nomad life I had been forced to live up to that point. The gap year itself was not something I especially enjoyed, though.” Miller Continued from page 62 Continued on page 66 As was true in my own case, people who take gap years meet new people and learn more about themselves, as well as build confidence.