Today we asked six sophomores why they chose not to take a gap year (or year off) during the pandemic. Most said that they did not want to pause their education with the pandemic because life goes on, no matter what.
“For me, I know what I want to do beyond undergrad. I want to go to grad school and I consider myself pre-PPA. So for me, I feel not taking the gap year to grad schools will make you look more determined. Even though with the pandemic it has been hard getting shadowing hours and experience, showing the fact that I am still trying, says a lot about determination and going after what I really want. I also think that with the pandemic you can’t just stop having things like education. ” – first-generation college student and transfer Logan Johnson, a Biological Science major from Washington Township, NJ (Gloucester County)
“I was worried I would lose my credits or scholarships. So I thought coming would be the best course of action to go ahead with my original plan.” – Nyds Rivera, a Writing Arts major and Psychology minor from Mount Laurel, NJ (Burlington County)
“I felt like time moves forward no matter what is going on. Some will rise and some will fall. So I decided to keep pushing forward and keep going because eventually I would have to get it done.” – Jaylen Shanklin, a Communication Studies major from South Harrison, NJ (Gloucester County)
“I am supposed to be a junior so if I took another gap year I thought it would put me more behind. If I did I feel as thought I might have wanted to drop out. So I thought I should just push through.” – Kaela Moore, a double major in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Sociology from Mount Laurel, NJ (Burlington County)
“I did not want to take a gap year because it would hinder my progress in getting my degree, and I did not want that to happen. I never tried online learning and I wanted to see how that worked. I do not like online learning. It is hard especially not being able to be hands on.” – James Nguyen, a Mechanical Engineering major from Hillsboro, NJ (Somerset County)
“I did not take a gap year because I got a full-ride scholarship to come here and I was worried what would happen if I took a gap year.” – first-generation college student Keyoni Collins, a Biological Science major with a minor in Pre-Med from Bridgeton, NJ (Cumberland County).
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Story and photography by:
Stephanie Batista, sophomore Music Industry major
