While most seniors are deep in the college application process, senior Jonathan Ward is focusing on a different type of application: A Gap Year program.

Ward plans to leave America and indulge in the cultures of New Zealand.

Q: What type of gap year program are you about to participate in?
A: “The program I’m about to do is Torchbearers International. They have centers and facilities in 20 countries around the world. These centers host camps, retreats, and (what I’m doing) Bible Schools. It is not just a gap year program. I just happen to be doing it as a gap year. I am enrolling in a Bible School that will be 6 months. I will live on a sort of homestead in New Zealand. It’s a building where 20-30 other people and I will live, work, play, and study together. We will have different speakers come in each week and teach on different doctrines and ideas of the Bible. These 20-30 other people will become my family and I will talk with them and just live there in the New Zealand countryside.”

Q: How did you hear about this program or decide to go travel?
A: “I heard about this program from my best friend Winton. He did Torchbearers in Costa Rica for 4 months and Greece for 2 months. He came back each time and he just explained to me how much of an impact it had on him. So I wanted to experience that and learn about what I think is the most important thing I can EVER learn about. This is going to help me no matter what college I go to or what job I get. I decided to travel to New Zealand because when will I get to spend 6 months in New Zealand and go bungee jumping, cliff jumping, and kayaking. New Zealand is like the adventure capital of the world. This will be so much better and valuable than sitting in a college classroom.”

Q: What hard decisions did you have to consider? Did the positive outweigh the negatives? What were some of the positive and negatives?
A: “One hard decision I had to make is to not go to college the same time as everyone else I know. I will be a year behind people but in the end, it’s all good. Another hard thing (not really a decision though) was convincing my parents. I threw around the idea of a gap year and they were not on board. I had to create a power point presentation to show them what I want to do and why I want to do it. I worked for about a month on the presentation. It worked though, they were into it after I presented. The positives definitely outweighed the negatives. Positives: I get to live in New Zealand for 6 months, learn about something that’s super important, do epic stuff in New Zealand, and tell people what I’m doing. Negatives: costs some money, year behind everyone else. I know that this will impact me for the better, there is no way this is not good for me.”