Thread: After May 1, what are the options?

The students could always go to a community college. There are also on-line courses they could take. I would think that good performance in a community college or good grades in an on-line course could also help with future applications to a University.

David, these are the tried and true options. I was hoping someone could come up with novel ideas. Other options include laying out year to travel, work, do postgrauate study. Or join the miltary. I am stumped and I know some my advisees are really looking for interesting options.

Tedd Kelly
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"Going to College . . . Without the Stress
[url="http://www.cerr.com"]www.cerr.com[/url]

Hmmmmm ... what about doing a two year stint in the Peace Corps? The Peace Corp Volunteers are looking for good people and President Bush would like to see the number of volunteers doubled.

Or what about this? There are language schools in Japan and China that are looking for native English speakers to teach English.

Choosing one of these options would give students a chance to see a bit of the world while also helping to provide a wonderful service.

Gret, David. Just the kind of ideas I'm looking for. Does any one else out there have ideas?

Tedd Kelly
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Going to College . . . Without the Stress
[url="http://www.cerr.com"]www.cerr.com[/url]

Hard question. I think travel is a great option if one can afford it. I also think trade schools would be something to look into or apprenticeships, but then again those are probably ideas you have already come up with . . .

What about having the student do volunteer work, internship, or, if possible, a paying job in whichever field(s) they'd like to work?

While the volunteer coordinator at a zoo, I had several volunteers who worked somewhere to support themselves and then came in to the zoo for "real life" work experience. Several realized their "dream job" wasn't something they wanted to do at all, others found something else within the zoo they liked more, and others just had their thoughts confirmed. I had quite a few who were able to get jobs at the zoo (often in the gift shop or concession stand) once they volunteered there. Several have moved on to full-time jobs in the area they wanted. It was very satisfying to watch and gave them experience that was priceless.

Erin

Great idea about the zoo or other non-profits. That is thinking out of the box. Some one sugggested to me personally they do a telemarketing stint...it would make them want to go to a college, any college. A friend told me his daughter worked a year as a "reporter" without salary to get an experience of the real world. So I guess there are lots of options.

Tedd

In order to teach English overseas you usually need a Bachelors Degree. But I know the school I teach at in Guatemala loves to hire former Peace Corps Volunteers.

Volunteering at a local non-profit is great experience but have you ever thought of volunteering overseas as well? You usually have to pay your own expenses, though. There are many agencies that can use volunteer labor.

Here in Guatemala City there is a group that works with children who live in and around the City dump. It's staffed almost entirely by volunteers - [url="http://www.safepassage.org/"]http://www.safepassage.org/[/url]. Helps International brings down construction and medical teams for one week trips - [url="http://helpsinternational.com"]http://helpsinternational.com[/url]. Hands of Hope Medical clinic is run by a nurse. She and her family sold everything they had to set up this clinic - [url="http://www.hands-of-hope.com"]http://www.hands-of-hope.com[/url] These are just three that I'm familiar with here in Guatemala. I know there are many more such organizations around the world including some in the US.