J.K. Rowling!
J.K. Rowling took a gap year in Portugal where she taught English and wrote her first draft of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone!
A gap year helped her reset and invest more time in her passion for writing. Being immersed in a new country helped inspire Rowling’s writing almost immediately.
She says: “In those first weeks in Portugal I wrote what has become my favourite chapter in the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘The Mirror of Erised’”.
Like J.K. Rowling, you’re overflowing with curiosity and love a good story! Taking a gap year is a great opportunity to invest in passions you never had time for during high school and to live some adventurous stories of your own!
YOUR GAP YEAR CELEBRITY IS J.K. ROWLING

HEAR FROM GAP YEAR STUDENTS AND PARENTS
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.…
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……