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[post_date] => 2017-06-12 09:39:09
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[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_151277" align="alignnone" width="600"]
Pictured: Shaina Watrous, Bridge Year India Program.[/caption]
Here's an excerpt from the piece titled: "Programs Aim to Make a Gap Year Possible, Regardless of Financial Background" by AMY DILUNA
“I was so tired after high school. It was a lot,” said Matthew Oakland, 20, a second-year at Princeton from Oak Grove, California, who took part in the Ivy League school's famed Bridge Year program.
"Just the whole end part of senior year, testing, and getting things squared away and applying. And suddenly you’re just doing one thing after the other and I just wanted to slow it all down."
Princeton, like Harvard, encourages its incoming first-years to delay the start of college. Programs such as Bridge Year offer incentives to make it as easy as possible, regardless of financial background.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but statistics suggest that a break between high school and college produces students who are more dedicated to their courses and more apt to get involved in service work.
RELATED: Taking A ‘Gap Year’ Changed My Life, Tom Costello says
And no, this isn’t the first step towards skipping college entirely. Nine out of 10 students return to a four-year college within one year of taking their gap year, said Knight. It may in fact be the year your kid needs to gain the maturity necessary to make the most of his or her college experience.
Shaina Watrous, 26, is a New York University law student who graduated from Princeton in 2014. She was part of the school’s inaugural Bridge Year, in India, where she worked with an organization that helped combat human trafficking.
The experience changed the focus of her career.
“I hadn’t been as interested in service before I went on Bridge Year, and then I realized it was this essential part of my life,” she said. “It kept me motivated to do my work in India, and my academic work in Princeton.” She signed up to tutor in area prisons, as part of the Petey Greene Program, majored in public policy, and will pursue issues of justice and incarceration as a lawyer when she graduates.
Read the full article "Programs Aim to Make a Gap Year Possible, Regardless of Financial Background," and congratulations Shaina Watrous and Matthew Oakland!
[post_title] => NBC News Features Dragons Alumni!
[post_excerpt] => We love to see Dragons Alumni featured in the press. (Congratulations Shaina Watrous and Matthew Oakland!) Here's an excerpt from the piece titled: "Programs Aim to Make a Gap Year Possible, Regardless of Financial Background" by AMY DILUNA
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06/12/17
Dragons HQ
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[post_date] => 2017-06-02 10:25:33
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[post_content] => Exciting news for us at Dragons HQ as eloquently announced by our Latin America Program Director, Julianne Chandler.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Today, I am very proud of Dragons. Early this morning, one of our dear friends and contacts from the Peruvian Andes approached the US Embassy in Lima with a large stack of documents and his traditional hand woven chulo fit firmly on his head. After a four hour anxious wait in line, he was called to the counter and handed over his shiny new passport and letter of invitation from Dragons to participate in our all staff orientation in the Sierras. We had gone over this moment countless times over the phone, and he had rehearsed everything he needed to say. I told him they wouldn't turn down his winning smile. I was right.
Don Fabian Champi Apaza, an Andean priest and spiritual leader, a dear friend, a man who has been the spirit of our Peru programming for the past decade, who has touched the lives of countless students and instructors will be joining us this year in the Sierras for All-Staff Orientation & Training.
Fabian may not know how to read the writing on his visa documents, but he knows how to read the night sky and the arching slopes of the Andes and the blessing hidden in a palm full of coca leaves. He is a healer, a connector of worlds both seen and unseen, and the sound of his flute can part clouds in the sky (seriously). His work has helped our students connect more meaningfully with the landscapes, people, communities, and traditions of the Q'eros Nation - perhaps the last true Incan outpost - a place we never could have stepped foot into without Fabian's guidance and trust.
I am so grateful for the leadership which has made this possible! I look forward to joining all of you in a few short weeks to welcome Fabian to our community. His presence in the Sierras will be one small gesture of reciprocity for the countless guides and contacts that have opened doors for our students across the globe.
Below, Fabian sees and touches the ocean for the first time in his life yesterday in Lima. Also, a big thanks to Annelies Hamerlinck, who hosted Fabian in Lima and took this photo.
[post_title] => A message of gratitude
[post_excerpt] => Don Fabian Champi Apaza, an Andean priest and spiritual leader, a dear friend, a man who has been the spirit of our Peru programming for the past decade, who has touched the lives of countless students and instructors will be joining us this year in the Sierras.
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06/02/17
Dragons HQ
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[post_date] => 2017-05-31 15:51:57
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[post_content] => Dear Dragons Community,
On this memorial day weekend, the Dragons community mourns the death of a different kind of national hero. 23 year old Taliesin Myrddin, an alumnus of the Indonesia Fall Semester-2011, was fatally stabbed while attempting to stop anti-Muslim hate speech against two women on a train in Portland, OR. His sister, Vajra Alaya-Maitreya, emailed a statement to The Washington Post on behalf of their family:
“We lost him in a senseless act that brought close to home the insidious rift of prejudice and intolerance that is too familiar, too common. He was resolute in his conduct (and) respect of all people,” she wrote. “In his final act of bravery, he held true to what he believed is the way forward. He will live in our hearts forever as the just, brave, loving, hilarious and beautiful soul he was. We ask that in honor of his memory, we use this tragedy as an opportunity for reflection and change. We choose love.”
Taliesin represents the best of what Dragons stands for in this world. May his life, and his final act, give us all strength to continue the work of creating a more empathetic, understanding, and humane world. Taliesin, and the others who intervened, are an inspiration for our entire community to stand up against the voices of violence and intolerance which seek to undermine our shared humanity. Dragons is committed to its programming throughout the Muslim world in order to continue fostering meaningful cross-cultural understanding and further strengthen the bonds of our global community.
Dragons is participating in the campaigns to support the victims' families.
[post_title] => Honoring Taliesin
[post_excerpt] => On this memorial day weekend, the Dragons community mourns the death of a different kind of national hero.
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05/31/17
Dragons HQ
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[post_date] => 2017-05-26 15:44:39
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[post_content] => "Students share images from a day in the life of a Bridge Year participant in Varanasi, India. From early morning cultural enrichment activities to the daily commute to evening time with host family members, this video captures many of the subtler moments that comprise the Bridge Year experience."
Visit the Princeton Bridge Year site to view the video!
(Or see all the Bridge Year updates from 2016-2017).
[post_title] => Bridge Year India - Video Update from the Field
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05/26/17
Dragons HQ
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[post_date] => 2017-05-22 15:15:57
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[post_content] => [caption id="attachment_151236" align="alignnone" width="1202"]
Visit Instagram to see the full slideshow.[/caption]
Captioned: "indo 2017 || i miss the constant human connection. i miss the constant company, the laughs, the talks. i miss waking up next to people who care. || an experience like this cannot be summed up in words. sure you can ask me and i can tell you about all the amazing things we did and learned ~ but that's not the most important part. what mattered most were the connections made, the friendships formed, and the revelations had. never before have i been pushed so hard out of my comfort zone not only physically but also emotionally. i may seem like the same person on the outside, but i'm a new person on the inside. things that mattered so much to me before now no longer matter and things that didn't matter before matter so much now. i met people on this trip who made me think, question my opinions, and ask big questions about myself and the way i want to approach life has shifted dramatically because of it. || but with all of this comes heartbreak. i miss the people i met on this trip who walked into my life as strangers but who are now forever unforgettable. the people who showed up every day and were there for me always. the people who fundamentally changed me and shaped me into a better person. i miss the simple joy of exploring indonesia with them - always learning, always growing. words cannot express the love and gratitude i feel for them. || indonesia was 3 months of my life. indonesia sometimes feels like a dream ~ i ask myself if it ever happened. i am writing this as a dedication to those who filled my heart with such overwhelming warmth, love, and gratitude, to those who embodied the spirit of adventure, and to those who made me fall head over heels in love with life again. @wheretherebedragons #wheretherebedragons"
[post_title] => Featured Instagram Slideshow by @elenagadekar from Indonesia
[post_excerpt] => indo 2017 || i miss the constant human connection. i miss the constant company, the laughs, the talks. i miss waking up next to people who care. || an experience like this cannot be summed up in words. sure you can ask me and i can tell you about all the amazing things we did and learned ~ but that's not the most important part. what mattered most were...
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05/22/17
@elenagadekar
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[post_date] => 2017-05-12 15:10:49
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[post_content] => Where There Be Dragons is the on-site organizational partner of the Princeton Bridge Year Program. For those unfamiliar with Bridge Year, here's a description from the Princeton Bridge Year Website:
Bridge Year is a tuition-free program that allows a select number of incoming freshmen to begin their Princeton experience by engaging in nine months of University-sponsored service at one of five international locations. In addition to supporting community-based initiatives at each program site, Bridge Year aims to provide participants with greater international perspective and intercultural skills, an opportunity for personal growth and reflection, and a deeper appreciation of service in both a local and international context.
And an excerpt from the announcement:
"We are thrilled to be able to offer students the opportunity to explore Indonesian society and culture at our new program site in Yogyakarta, located on the island of Java," said John Luria, director of the Bridge Year Program. "As with all of our program locations, volunteers in Indonesia will engage in service work, study the local language and immerse themselves in the local community."
You can learn more about the new Princeton Bridge Year Indonesia program by reading the full story Princeton's website: Bridge Year Program to offer new program in Indonesia.
[post_title] => New Bridge Year Indonesia Program
[post_excerpt] => Dragons is thrilled to announce the development of two new programs in Indonesia...
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05/12/17
Dragons HQ
wheretherebedragons
Dragons Alumni E-Newsletter: *DEBUT* Issue #1 https://t.co/rOOzDY6R8e
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[post_content] => There are over 2,000 Certified B Corporations from more than 130 industries in 50 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Corps are important because they inspire all businesses to compete not only to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world.
From the B-Corp website:
05/08/17
Reed Harwood, Executive Director
Looking for course postings from the field? Visit our Yak Board.
Go to Yak Board
Setting up camp for All-Staff Training in the Sierras is no small task! Check out our little village coming together...
Re-posting live from the field in Cambodia today! #Repost @wolfjanpim ・・・ Hello from Cambodia. I’m here exploring the Kingdom of...
Don Fabian Champi Apaza, an Andean priest and spiritual leader, a man who has been the spirit of Dragons Peru...
Congratulations to our 35 Princeton Bridge Year Participants returning home today after 9-months living in India (pictured), Bolivia, Brazil, China,...
Dear Dragons Community, On this memorial day weekend, the Dragons community mourned the death of a different kind of national...
Photo by @slade.o, Dragons Alum Staff. Taken in Guatemala. PS. Two spots left on our fall Nicaragua & Guatemala Semester....
Are you planning a gap year? Thursday, May 25th, is #GapDecisionDay. The idea was derived from the "College Signing Day"...
Turn on the sound for a flash experience of 🇸🇳 Senegal.... #Repost @lalagchase ・・・ Boat tour among mangroves ✔️ fishing...
#Repost @elenagadekar ・・・ indo 2017 || i miss the constant human connection. i miss the constant company, the laughs, the...
Dragons has a new BLOG! Features include: Alumni Spotlight, Highlights From The Field, Featured Yaks and Photos, and more. Go...
#Repost @walk.in.barefoot ・・ A traffic jam in Senegal as photographed by Elke Schmidt on our Princeton Bridge Year Senegal 🇸🇳...
ATTENTION ALUMNI: Dragons Spring 2017 Newsletter, The Map's Edge, is HEADING TO YOUR HOME MAILING ADDRESS THIS WEEK. The theme...
Featured Student Photo by Lindsay Coe, Dragons Andes & Amazon Semester. Captioned: “Ruffled pink flamingos fish for brightly colored algae...
Another photo contest winner. This jaw-dropping shot was captured by Benjamin Swift on his Andes and Amazon Semester. Captioned: A...
Another Photo Contest Winner! This image was captured by Christine Tsai on Dragons India Semester: “A shot from an evening...
Photo by Dragons *New!* College Study Abroad Director, Cara Lane-Toomey: “Strong trade winds blow through the Moroccan beach town of...
Another Photo Contest Winner! Photo By Eliana Rothwell, from the Visions of India Semester. “A women sitting in a chair...
LAST CALL: Only a few spaces left on Dragons Summer 2017 Programs. Get in touch quick to hold a spot!...
"Fabian and Patricia took a break from serenading our group with song and flute as we hiked through a foggy...
