Kalie Hirt ’15 has decided to take a gap year before heading off to college. Read below to discover more about Hirt’s plans.

What are you planning to do? 

“I will start of the year in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji with a program called Carpe Diem. With this program I will explore these countries through volunteer work and the outdoors. I will then spend January through April in Whistler, Canada with YES, a ski improvement course. In these 11 weeks of skiing, I will become a level two-ski instructor, which qualifies me to teach all levels of skiing except expert. In the spring I will go to either Costa Rica or Peru where I will work at a local orphanage and be improve on my Spanish. This program is run by Maximo Nivel and it works to improve your Spanish while allowing you to help the locals. Finally, I plan to spend the summer in Israel working at a day camp there. Then in the fall of 2016 I will start classes at Colorado College!”

 Why did you chose to take a gap year? 

“I chose to take a gap year the minute my older brother decided to take one. His year sounded so amazing and he learned a ton from each experience he had. I wanted to take a gap year also to give myself a year off from school. School puts a lot of pressure on students and I wanted to the year to relax and explore the world. I get to do all sorts of things like working with children, skiing, and sightseeing, that I have wanted to do for a long time. I also have no idea what I want to do with my life and taking this year to see the world might help me find what I truly enjoy to do. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t turn down.”

 What do you hope to get out of this upcoming year?

“Well first I hope to be a better Spanish and Hebrew speaker. I chose to go to South America and Israel in hopes of improving my language skills, so hopefully that will happen. I also hope to be a better leader, and overall a better person. I want to use these groups and opportunities to work on the flaws in my character and also improve my successful aspects.  I hope these experiences will allow me to see the world and explore the culture of these amazing places. I want a better understanding of my place in the world and to know that I have made a difference even if that difference is small. Most of all I hope I have an exciting year that helps direct me to the right path for my future.”