Testimonials
You saved the day! You are the whole package. You gave Gillian the opportunity to re-balance and feel good about herself during her Gap Year. It felt to her like a whole new lease on life. Your coaching throughout her Gap Year was priceless.
A mom emailed me with gratitude for letting them know about the Gap Year talk - she said it was helpful to her and something she wouldn't have researched or navigated on her own.
Katherine is amazing! She has not only been Catherine's Gap Year Sherpa -- but she has really played a critical role in Catherine's maturity, confidence and self-esteem and has encouraged her to dream BIG. Katherine has been a great sounding board for me as well and we are so grateful that she has helped and coached Catherine every step of the way. She is the best!
My son’s growth and maturity has been remarkable during the last 5 months of his Gap year. His trust and confidence in your guidance has brought him to a new level of self awareness, allowing him to feel confident in making his own decisions for his future…He enjoys having you as his confidante, trusting his deepest fears and aspirations as he moves through unfamiliar territory.
The information and data you shared is very helpful. It helped frame for the audience (and me!) how this is a normal experience and not "flighty" or "unaccessible." Especially since COVID, I have students who are simply not ready to transition to college and could use a year to gain experience/ perspective/ direction.
Thank you for your support. You've helped our daughter launch in a fresh direction. She is loving the Spanish immersion and environmental science work. The turtle conservation project seems particularly amazing. Most importantly, she is experiencing tremendous self -discovery and growing in lovely ways.
Nick is really thriving at Holy Cross. The gap year was game changer for him. You should feel great about what you do. You are making a tremendous difference in their lives.
I had a fantastic experience working with Gap Year Solutions this past year! Katherine was so knowledgeable about amazing opportunities and programs out there for me. She was also so caring and supportive, frequently checking in with me outside of our meetings and helping push me along to really maximize my gap year.
Gap Year Solutions made my year more meaningful. Katherine began by getting to know me and demystifying to my family what a gap year is and how it can be transformative. She helped me navigate a sea of travel programs and find one that best fit my interests. When I returned home, Katherine helped me keep on track, look for a job, and have concrete goals. Katherine's questions and suggestions revealed that she genuinely cared about my experience and I always enjoyed talking to her. As an added bonus, I connected with other gap year students from across the country and befriended them.
When I met up with Katherine at the end of my year, I could not stop smiling. She said that when we met after my Gap Year was over, that I may be a different person. She was right. I am proud of myself. I didn’t think I could accomplish this much and do what I wanted to do. I learned so much about who I am and what my purpose is. Thanks Katherine for believing in me!!
Katherine identifies your child’s strengths and helps structure activities and programs that best fit them. But she is so much more than a consultant. Katherine has become a mentor, motivator and positive influence in my daughter’s life. She becomes involved in your child’s life and truly cares about achieving the best for them. She brings out the best in your child to turn their lives in a positive direction for those struggling to find their path in life.
Sarah is having the best experience! Thank you so much for helping make the past year both fun and rewarding for her.
When my husband, our daughter and I first met with Katherine, we were impressed by her knowledge of the field, but even more struck by her connection with our daughter and interest in her life — past, present, and future. I was surprised how open our daughter was with Katherine; she clearly felt comfortable enough to be completely honest. Our daughter has had the benefit of getting to know a fun “gap year expert”, who has a wealth of information and good ideas pertaining to her exact stage of life. She considers Katherine a gift, and so do we.
Katherine served as an advisor, mentor and personal coach to our son. She helped him identify his goals for his year and a range of opportunities available to meet those goals, including organized programs which combined travel, service work and cultural exchange in Southeast Asia, a valuable internship experience at a local business, and a rewarding volunteer experience at a city food and nutrition non-profit. Katherine guided him all along the way, and taught him how to research and evaluate opportunities, coached him through the application and interview processes and mentored him as a job coach. As parents, we felt we shared her goals for our child and we appreciated her professionalism, familiarity with the opportunities available to students and her rapport with our son. It was clear that he felt heard and valued. In addition to the growth he experienced through both the adventures and challenges of his gap year programs and work, he learned and grew working with Katherine over the course of the year.
Right from the beginning, Katherine made me feel comfortable and at ease in my decision to take a Gap Year. I liked the questionnaire she had me fill out because it made me sit and just think about what I really wanted to do. Throughout the whole planning process, I was in the driver’s seat, and Katherine was there to help me steer in a direction that felt right to me. I would never have thought about getting a job to help pay for my travels if Katherine had not suggested that. I am now ready and actually excited about going to college and studying again!
