Overview

"Discover the life-changing impact of a gap year through the eyes of a mother whose son lost his spark and joy of learning during high school-a casualty of college prep education and the anxiety-filled quest to attend the ""best college."" In Am I Too Late?, higher education and career coaching veterans Cindy Funk and Jim Bellar make the case why parents should help their student explore alternative learning options like taking a gap year after high school. Cindy, like many parents, got caught up in the high-pressure stakes of college admissions, wanting her son, Mackenzie, to be accepted by ""the best school."" She gives an authentic and vulnerable account of her crusade to help him reconnect with the joy of learning after he announces that he is burned out by his senior year and wants to defer college and take a gap year. Utilizing flexible planning and design thinking, the family supports Mackenzie's decision to take a learning journey that includes hiking the Appalachian Trail, teaching in Swaziland, navigating the waters of British Columbia, and researching marine life on a tall ship in the Caribbean. In this evolving, experiential ""classroom,"" he gains competencies sought by employers and a capacity to manage the unseen, unpredictable and unplanned events. A useful resource for parents of teens, Am I Too Late? provides insight into the benefits of gap years, college admissions, college costs, college degree myths, and furnishes research references and resources. Valuable exercises are presented to give parents practical strategies in helping their young adult navigate the high school to college transition including asking essential questions like: ""Why do you want to go to college?"""

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9781737314516

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Cindy Funk is a higher education consultant, career and life coach, and author currently living in Portland, Oregon. She has over twenty years professional experience working in career services at public and private institutions including Vanderbilt University, Colorado College, Regis University, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and Portland State University. Her entrepreneurial ventures include launching a gourmet popcorn manufacturing operation and converting a fitness center into a residential property featured on HGTV. She is the parent of two college-age sons who both chose to take a gap year before making the transition to college. Jim Bellar is an author, musician and consultant based in the Nashville area. After high school, he dropped out of college after one semester, which sent him on a journey that included time as a combat infantry soldier, a janitor, heating and air conditioning installer, and a reporter before he received a bachelor's degree in his late twenties. He has held management and leadership positions in workforce development and at Vanderbilt University and has been a presenter at national and international career development conferences.

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