Benedict Cumberbatch!
Before starring in Sherlock, Star Trek, and 12 Years a Slave, Benedict Cumberbatch took a pre-university gap year in Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Darjeeling, India.
While there, Cumberbatch taught an English course, learned how to mediate, and immersed in the local culture.
Cumberbatch told the BBC: “I had a real yearning to make use of the opportunities I had at school. When I heard about the gap year of teaching English at a Tibetan monastery, I knew I had to do something about it…The monastery was a fantastic experience”
Like Benedict Cumberbatch, you’re eager to see the world and experience new cultures. You know that taking a gap year is an incredible opportunity for expanding your education with new perspectives and self-reflection.
Hear From Gap Year Fellows And Parents
Fellow / Senegal
New Continent, New Family
— Erik Oline
I turned around to the open arms of my host family (yes, all 23 of them)! The family farm is a little slice of heaven…
Parent / Brazil
Maturity & Perspective
— Shih-Hung Shieh
The Fellows mature into intelligent, compassionate, cosmopolitan citizens of the world, able to converse about global issues…
Fellow / Ecuador
Why I Came to Ecuador
— Henry Yeary
I wanted the world to slap me silly, sweep me up like a tornado and crash me down. I needed to live.
Fellow / India
This is How I Will Save the World
— Indi Nunez
The world does not need us to save it; it needs us to understand it. Perhaps to help is not to give after all, but rather to empower…
Parent / Senegal
Real World Skills
— Pam Ricker (Jordan Ricker)
I am so glad my son has had this experience. It has given him more than the acquisition of two new languages…
Fellow / Senegal
Ndanke, Ndanke
— Elise Leise
In a world filled with complex global challenges, I hope to be part of a generation that refuses to give up so easily.