Preparing for college with a year abroad

For many young adults, the path after high school is simple: college. But what happens when a student chooses to take the road less traveled and experience life in new ways, before taking the next step into college? This is exactly what recent TMI graduate JuliaGrace Walker ’17 is learning during her current gap year in Ecuador.

From taking the wrong bus and ending up lost in a foreign city to facing the impending moment of finding a spit-roasted guinea pig on her dinner plate, JuliaGrace eloquently describes how her life at TMI prepared her to take this leap of faith and go on this journey. In this Q&A interview, JuliaGrace shares how the lessons she’s learning this year, outside the classroom, are preparing her with broader life experiences and heightening her excitement for attending college next fall.

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TMI alumni share service academy and military experiences with students

“It’s a calling…you have to want it in here,” said Lieutenant Commander Gregory Gilland ’87 as he tapped his chest over his heart while talking to students in the O.S. Petty Rifle Range of TMI, “and you’ll find the inner strength to do it.”