Impact 360: Mind the Gap

| Photo courtesy of Impact 360

With much of the world still tossed about in uncertainty due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, many high school seniors graduating this spring have decided against transitioning straight into college and have instead opted to take a gap year. 

A 2020 survey of over 1,000 high schoolers reported that 16% of students planned on taking a gap year last fall as colleges either operated remotely or in hybrid form like King’s, as opposed to 3% before the pandemic began. Another study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that the number of enrolled students deciding to take a gap year spiked 300%, increasing from an average of 50 to 200 students. 

Millions of students wrestle with the decision of what to do come the fall. The ever-present uncertainty of the next few years, compounded by the virus, makes such decisions even more burdensome. The inability to visit universities in person fused with financial factors and considerations further complicates the decision-making process. 

Although many people advise against gap years, they can be extremely beneficial. Studies show that gap years greatly benefit students in finding their vocation, influencing their worldview, and even improving maturity and self-image. Many students decide to participate in programs like Impact 360 or YWAM (Youth With a Mission) — outfits that may help better prepare them for college life. 

Maddie Cox, 19, who grew up in Amman, Jordan, spent a year in the U.S. before attending California Baptist University in the fall of 2020. 

“It helped me learn to be myself in a context that I’m unfamiliar with. It taught me to make friends and find community in a new place, outside of home and away from my family,” Cox said. 

Cox, unsure of where she wanted to go to college or what she wanted to study, decided to take intentional time to reflect and contemplate her vocation. Many other students commonly participate in a gap year program exactly for this reason. 

“I liked the idea of taking a break...not from school in general, but from the cycle of what I was already doing,” said Myrian Garcia, 20, from Glen Burnie, Md. “I wanted a year to really process what I wanted to do in my life and to have a community of people to help me in that.”

Dakota Powell, 20, originally from Albuquerque, N.M., also decided to take a gap year before committing to playing football at Wheaton College in Illinois. 

“That year between high school and college greatly benefited me in the way my mind and beliefs were shaped and how my overall social maturity improved all before I entered an actual college classroom,” Powell said. 

All three of these students spent their gap years at Impact 360 Institute, an organization whose mission is to cultivate leaders who follow Jesus through rigorous theological study. Impact 360 students also receive a plethora of leadership and discipleship training both on and off campus. 

“These experiences get our students out of the classroom and into the real world where they can learn to practically live out their faith,” said Mitch Aldridge, Impact 360’s Manager of Summer Experiences and the Three Initiative. 

Located in Pine Mountain, Ga., Impact 360 has been offering gap year and summer experiences since 2006. The program costs start at $18,000, but scholarships and grants are available to lower the expenses. 

Garcia already had an idea of what she wanted to do after high school but wanted to avoid rushing into college and the rest of her life. 

“I already knew that I wanted to go to Kings. When I learned about Impact, I thought it would be a good transition from high school to college.” Garcia said. “It was nice to be learning things that would benefit me as a person and also to reflect on exactly what I want to do in my life… Before my gap year, I wanted to be a politics major. Then I ended up switching to JCS.” 

Impact 360 is where students are challenged to interact with and influence the world around them, whether on their future college campus or in a boardroom. Organizations like these fill the void, in modern times, of instilling young, Christian leaders into society who will influence culture. Going somewhere like Impact 360 is unlike merely traveling or working for a year, hampered by COVID-19 restrictions. 

Olivia Pearson, 19, from Greenville, S.C., who is currently attending Impact 360 said, “the biggest difference between a regular gap year and Impact 360… is that here, we’ve been able to experience a diverse amount of activities, practices, disciplines and trips that provide a holistic preparation for future collegial pursuits.” 

Especially since many schools now operate mainly online, many kids may rather opt for a year away from college instead of studying online and still paying for full-time tuition. Impact 360

continues to operate in person and allows students to have as close to a ‘normal’ gap year experience as possible. 

“I still got to be able to be in a classroom, be part of a learning environment, a part of a community, to intentionally cultivate relationships,” Pearson added. “It was really nice to not see the news every day or to hear about all the craziness going on, but instead, go to the mountains and prepare my mind and my heart for what’s coming next in life.” 

For gap years to be beneficial they must be constructive, students said. The reason organizations such as Impact 360 work is because students are satisfied with their experiences as it involves an intentional pursuit of growth stemming from an eagerness to experience something new, alumni said. 

“Be intentional about what you’re doing,” Pearson said. “I wouldn’t just take off a year and say, ‘I’m going to be spontaneous this year.’ I would take off a year and ask myself, ‘What am I going to do to grow in this year?’ Make sure you have a set plan.”