Fishers Island Oyster Farm
Fishers Island, NY
Primary School Teacher, Kenya, Africa
Batain's View
Located approximately three hours north of Nairobi, Kenya, Batain's View is situated on the banks of the Naro Moru River and the lower slopes of Mt. Kenya
"Working in such a foreign place is so out of our usual comfort zone you inevitably learn new things."
Shadow Experiences, Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland
Dr. Michael Todd
Dr. Edward Drohan
Thomas Murphy, President, Buckeye Pharmaceuticals
Karen Nye, CRNA
Wayne Wallace, Managing Director, Key Banc Capital Markets
University of Michigan
Audited Ross School of Business Global Immersion Course
College Essay
This past September, while freshman friends were settling into
dorms with roommates preparing for the first day of college, I was living alone
in a shed with no electricity on an island off the Connecticut coast. I was
starting my third month working on an oyster farm – hands cut and callused,
neck stiff with sunburn and having the time of my life! This was Phase I of a
three-phased gap year plan to work, shadow and volunteer before starting
college.
A year earlier I had been
emotionally and physically exhausted. I was over-stimulated by the many choices
I was supposed to be making about college, sports, courses and careers. I knew
I wasn’t ready for college, but was I ready for a self-directed gap year? I
adopted two perspectives that helped me take the first steps: “trust in the
process” and “experiments never fail”.
My
goals were three-fold: build confidence in myself by living on my own and
working at Fishers Island Oyster Farm. Two, refine my interests in medicine by
shadowing professionals working across a broad range of medical fields. And
three, build more confidence in myself by traveling to Kenya to
volunteer-teach.
On the oyster farm I worked side-by-side
with a diverse team of colorful characters – recent high school drop outs with
tattoos and piercings, preppy graduate students apprenticing for careers in
sustainable aquaculture and the family farmers – a married couple of
entrepreneurs who “…built Fishers Island Oyster
Farm [so] our lives and livelihood [would] be about working with nature, preserving
family values, and giving back to others.”
I
followed the oyster from young spat in the hatchery, to adolescent suspended in
lantern nets in Salt Pond to final grow-out site in Block Island Sound. During
harvest, we worked together to haul up, hand sort, box and ship oysters to
chefs and oyster bars across the US. I marveled at the irony of how quickly one
can recharge by following an early to bed, early to rise regimen of hard,
sweaty, bloody work (razor-sharp oyster shells).
Alone
in my shed after a long day on the farm and a salty swim at Isabella Beach, any
doubts about taking a gap year were now permanently silenced. Drowned out by
the gentle slap of water against the hulls of oyster boats and newfound
confidence in myself - I fell asleep with an exhausted grin on my face.
Phase
II is underway - evaluating colleges and shadowing people working in medicine -
ER doctors, anesthesiologists and pharmaceutical sales people, just to name a
few. In Phase II, I’m
getting closer to further clarifying my career vision which will help guide me
to the college with the best pre-professional program fit.
In
January, I will start Phase III - my capstone project bringing full-circle my
work, shadow and volunteer plan. I will serve as a volunteer teacher in primary
schools in Kenya. I will not be part of a formal program; this is a
self-directed service-learning experience. While this adventure will require me
to take a giant leap outside my comfort zone, the rewards far outweigh the
risks. I’m discovering in myself a passion to help people in meaningful ways –
and volunteering as a teacher, helping my students and their families with
chores on their farms or just playing soccer with students will give me my
first real taste in helping others in truly substantive ways.
There’s
a growing sense within me that when I do step on a college campus next fall, I
will be ready - ready as a student in the classroom, recharged as athlete
on the soccer and lacrosse fields and prepared to be a contributing member of a
college community. During my gap year I’ve trusted in the process of stepping
outside my comfort zone and learned Majaribio kamwe kushindwa –
loosely translated: “experiments never fail”.
Supplemental Essay
The decision to take a gap
year was harder than creating the plan itself to work, shadow and volunteer.
Yes, it took considerable self-directed effort to land a job at Fishers Island
Oyster Farm, cold-call doctors to shadow and create the opportunity to volunteer
teach in Kenya; however, as a rising high school senior feeling the societal
pressures to head straight to college, choosing to be “different” than my
college-bound peers was proving to be a bold move.
In my hometown, most had
never heard of a gap year. The typical concerns centered on their fears I would
lose direction, drift and never go to college. The few who did know asked if I
would be part of a formal program that would provide structure. When I replied
that I would be doing a self-directed gap year, I was met with considerable
skepticism. Looking back on these conversations where I had to defend my
decision, I realize now the gap year was already starting to prove its worth -
this was the first real tangible instance where I stood my ground to do
something I knew was in my best interest – even if other’s flatly disagreed
with me. It wasn’t until I had the first week under my belt on the oyster farm,
though, that I knew for certain I had chosen the “right” path for myself. I was
taking my first real proactive step to take responsibility to choose and create
my life.
While I’m not motivated to
be “different” for the sake of it, I’ve learned I appreciate people, places and
things that are “distinctive”. I’ve discovered I’m someone who is willing to
take extra time to question the status quo and make a thoughtful decision. As
we all know, college is a significant investment of time and money. I decided I
needed more time to learn about myself before I made that investment. Only then
would I be able to recognize the college that would be the ideal academic,
athletic and campus community fit. It signaled to me I was confident enough to
listen to my own head and heart about what was best for me, even though a gap
year wasn’t the most popular and conventional path.
A significant gap year
take-away I’ve learned about myself is the joy I feel helping people. It wasn’t
until I started working on the oyster farm and began to plan my volunteer
teaching trip to Kenya did I learn how happy it made me to be in a position to
make a difference in another’s life. Shadowing doctors and other professionals
who’ve dedicated their lives to helping others has further validated this
passion. With this realization comes a newfound feeling of purpose – a purpose
that I have the ability, passion and drive to make a positive contribution in
this world. My gap year has given me the gift of recognizing in myself that I’m
someone who has distinctive ideas to create positive change for others anywhere
in the world.
While I’ve only completed
a third of my gap year, by deferring college, I’ve grown well beyond that high
school senior over-stimulated by all the choices he had to make. In little more
than a month I’ll be nineteen. In that year I’ve developed the confidence, sense
of purpose and motivation to succeed at college. I now see college is the key
to building the foundation to realize my vision to help people, and in the
process, bring myself joy.
By the time I step on a
college campus next fall, I’ll be just shy of my twentieth birthday. By pushing
pause to take a gap year, I’ve better positioned myself for academic and
athletic success. Through my experiences, I’m confident I’ll be in a better
position to complement the diversity of the incoming freshman class.
