Now just a few days past the one month mark, we here at Glen Brook are beginning to settle into life in Phase 2 after returning from a week of orienteering. For me at least, there was a sense of ignorance going into our first intensive as I truly had no idea what to expect from this level of outdoor exploration, far elevated from my level of experience.

Ten days into my Gap at Glen Brook journey, I gaze in awe at all the ways I have already grown. After almost an entire year of isolation I was more nervous than usual to start learning and living with a group of strangers. Yet, from day one I have felt us bonding into a family.

When I think back to my very first day here at Glen Brook, I realize a lot has changed since; My friends and I have changed, the place we now call home has changed, and the entire country and world has changed.

When I began my somewhat unexpected gap year, I genuinely had no idea what to expect. With all of the COVID-19 craziness, my decision to take this year off was incredibly impulsive, but I’m grateful and glad that Glen Brook is where I ended up.

If you were to ask me six months ago if I was planning on taking a gap semester, I would have been quick to shut down the idea. However, thanks to COVID-19, many plans for the future were drastically changed, including my own.

Four weeks ago, if you told me I could really be myself, surrounded by almost strangers, I would have completely disagreed. Now, just one month into the program, I am aware of my self confidence, acceptance and the friendships I have made to last a lifetime.

People have many different reasons for taking a gap year: the call to adventure, a response to the burnout of high school, the wish for more expansive life experience, to develop new skills, or the simple, burning desire to do something new. While the reasons and needs for taking gap time vary greatly, we believe the benefits are universal.

There is snow on the ground here at Glen Brook the day after our Fall 2018 season came to a close. Now that the gappers have left, we are left to reflect on the semester we’ve shared with our curious cohort.

Noah Weil—known as “Boah” to differentiate him from the other Noah (himself called “Shnoah”)—has found time in between his role as Leader of the Week and his work on his Deep Dive project to write two entries for the Brook Blog: one about Intensive III, and one about the Deep Dives. Enjoy!

Phase Two has now come to a close. We all brainstormed and begun to plan Deep Dive projects. We said goodbye to Blaine and the horses: Breeze and Austen on Wednesday, feeling satisfied with the knowledge gained from Working With Horses.

This second week [of Phase II] led to a lot of new and interesting experiences. Other than the regular scheduled classes and stewardships, an interesting and new experience for some showed up during the week. On Wednesday, we went to a new stewardship called Working With Horses.

This blog post marks the end of the first week of Phase Two. Our time in this phase is split primarily between Seminars, which are classes offered by Jake, Alison, and other Glen Brook staff, and Stewardship, where we spend time working with Glen Brook staff on the farm, in the grounds, or in the kitchen, helping them with whatever they are working on, as a way to participate in and give back to the community in a more whole way than we did in the previous phase.

During last week, we were on a canoe trip to Maine. We started on Monday, easing in with just 2.5 miles of paddling in about as many hours. On Tuesday, we had about four miles.

To end the summer, we’ve featured six alumni across five semesters of Gap at Glen Brook. We’re proud of the unique traits they each bring! Read below about Zoe, Sofie, Anya, Carmen, Lucas, and Monty.

As our first week at Glen Brook draws to a close, we are able to reflect on the new experiences, and the new lives we are going to lead for the coming weeks, and beyond. This week our theme was sustenance, and how we sustain ourselves.

"Lying under the stars, I thought about how I didn’t need to find my place in the universe, I just had to be me." -Xander S., Fall '17

The Gap Year Association (GYA) is a US Department of Justice-recognized organization setting rigorous standards for gap year programs worldwide. The accreditation process demands that a gap year organization like ours is meeting and abiding by a high level of integrity in programming.

Coming into our fourth semester of running the gap program together, Jake and I are increasingly aware that Gap at Glen Brook is part of something much greater than our program, and much farther reaching than the gappers that come to camp.

We met some folks from Wayfinding Academy at a conference, and were excited to find such a value-aligned, forward-thinking organization out there. Enjoy this post from our guest star!