IU South Bend program seeks to support students taking ‘gap year’
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Indiana University South Bend is introducing a new program aimed at keeping high school students exploring a so-called “gap year” on track with goal setting, campus visits, skills training and more.
A gap year often refers to a year taken after high school graduation to travel, work, save money or explore career interests before entering higher education.
IU South Bend’s program, called Map the Gap, will provide students monthly interactions ranging from job-shadowing to mentor guidance during their first year outside of high school. It will also allow students to sit in on a college class and offer resources for understanding how to finance a college education.
“The Map the Gap program offers employers a structured way of interacting with the high-school pipeline of future workers and attracting a more diverse candidate pool for open positions,” IU South Bend’s Director of Elkhart Community Partnerships Sheila Sieradzki said in a news release. “Simultaneously, it prepares students with a post-secondary plan to reach their goals.”
Map the Gap will offer a career aptitude assessment to help tailor student mentorship and career exploration experiences over the course of the year. Program mentors will help students create SMART goals and evaluate their progress along the way.
Sieradzki said the program has already engaged with more than 20 mentors and 35 industry partners. Students’ exploration may include study of various career paths, salaries associated with each and higher education requirements needed to enter a desired field of work.
The program will also include monthly workshops and social opportunities so students can meet and network with other “gappers.”
“A student can truly experience a transformation with Map the Gap,” Sieradzki said. “They can come into it not knowing what they might want to do, and they can finish it with a completely written-out one- or five-year plan, as well as the resources needed to achieve their goals.”
University officials are currently interviewing recent high school graduates between the ages of 18 and 20 in Elkhart of St. Joseph County to join the Map the Gap’s first cohort. A pilot of the program is expected to launch Saturday and run through May.
More information about the Map the Gap program can be found at southbend.iu.edu/map-the-gap.