Student Stories
What are the impacts of a purposeful gap year?
How do our students experience growth, self-discovery, and community throughout their gap year? The best people to answer these questions are none other than our students themselves!
Life is an experiment, not a test
By Arielle Gatotos, DY graduate
“‘Life is an experiment, not a test.’ As a high-achieving high school student, I hadn’t always approached life by these words, but hearing this perspective from a mentor during my gap year marked a transformation in my mindset, allowing me to live with curiosity and purpose as I navigate post-secondary education.”
Discover Year makes you wise
By Blythe Watson, DY graduate
“It can be difficult to describe to people exactly what Discover Year is. I can deliver the standard pitch and say that it’s a gap year program that teaches life skills to students seeking direction. I can be more academic and say that it’s a scholarly program allowing us to explore different career paths and prepare us for a working environment.”
The best decision of my life
By Alex Richardson, DY graduate
“After I graduated high school, I was off to Carleton University to study astrophysics. I had a dream that I would finish my undergrad, get a masters or PhD so I could work at SpaceX, then I was going to help them get to Mars. And though this was such a big dream and really interested me, once I got to university, it didn’t fit right with me.”
These are the good old days
By Reid ten Den, DY graduate
“Over the past year at Discover Year, I’ve had some pretty incredible experiences. I’ve experienced some of the most fun times of my life—from meeting everyone at orientation, to the DY social events, to staying up until midnight chatting with my new friends at DY. I have also had some of the most meaningful conversations of my life.”
Everyone deserves a Discover Year
By Phoebe Smith, DY graduate
“My life started out with hardships coming from a small town with little support from my family. When I was 15, I decided to move out on my own to a large city, seven hours from my hometown and family. I left home with $1,000 in my pocket from years of saving, without realizing the hardships to come from being on my own without a job.”
Embracing the unknown
By Grace King, DY graduate
“As I imagine myself standing here on the DY graduation stage, I see someone who is looking forward to every bit of what the future holds for her. I see someone who is open to change, an endless amount of possibilities and a destiny that is not written for her but by her. You might be wondering how I got to this point… so let me rewind.”
Taking a leap of faith
By Jude Marett, DY graduate
“After I graduated from high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I had been through high school during the COVID pandemic, which had made the experience a very odd one, to say the least. While there were certainly parts I enjoyed, I felt as though I had missed out on a lot of the formative experiences one typically has in their youth.”
Re-learning how to say “yes”
By Arianne Nantel, DY graduate
“I can vividly remember the moment I started saying “yes” again. It was the Discover Year Orientation Week and all new students were in the Byward Market in Ottawa, nervously yet excitedly getting to know one another. The sun was shining, and that early September day felt much more like summer than fall.”
Meet Reid ten Den!
Check out the video below to get to know one of our Discover Year graduates, Reid!