In 2022, Carpe Diem Education received awards from GoAborad, GoOverseas, and the BCorp community! As you know, at Carpe Diem, we provide students an opportunity to explore some of the most fascinating regions on Earth, each offering a unique culturally immersive experience. But to us, our work is about more than travel. It’s about helping students find themselves. It’s about helping future leaders identify the ways they can uniquely contribute.… Read More
Central America Semester: “Gettin’ Giddy for Guate!” Greetings from Portland! Abby and Matt here, your Central America OE’s reporting from a cute corner cafe in Portland! We are wrapping up our preparations for an awesome upcoming 10 weeks! Today we participated in a Carpe Diem scavenger hunt around Portland, and in the process have continued learning about and getting to know one another – for example, Abby learned that Matt… Read More
Written By, James Simmons The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in drastic changes on an individual, community, and global level. Each of us has experienced at least some degree of change to our social and familial relationships, as well as having to make adjustments to our educational and/or career options. Many have personally experienced the effects of COVID-19 firsthand; others have loved ones who have suffered due to the pandemic. We… Read More
Written By, Doug Zaideman Learning To Trip Lead Becoming an Overseas Educator (OE) with Carpe Diem wasn’t something that I always knew I wanted to do, in fact, I hadn’t even heard of formal gap year education programs until after I had already made my way through school and had the opportunity to travel internationally for the first time. During a trip to Southeast Asia, I would meet student groups… Read More
Like many of you, we are experiencing immense anger and sadness for the suffering of Black people due to the systemic, institutional racism that continues to occur in our country. We condemn the racist policies, systemic racism and police brutality that led to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and countless others.
We stand in solidarity with those who are protesting and those… Read More
By Carpe Diem Education Alumni Breezy Zins On my first night back in America after a three-month-long journey through East Africa, I opened up my closet doors, looked at all the clothes I had – so many they all wouldn’t fit on hangers and had to be folded on shelves – and I cried.
I’d seen such incredible poverty it seemed so unfair, so confusing, to have so many… Read More
As our groups return this week, we know families are excited to welcome students home and proud of all of their hard work over the past months. Taking a gap year is a transformative journey and you may think the experience is over: the truth is, some of the hardest work has just begun.
As students grapple with reverse culture shock, it is important that they feel supported so… Read More
Photos and article by Carpe Diem Alumni Evangeline Scazzero If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve already been poisoned.
Poisoned by what your parents call “the travel bug,” what your friends call “you’re so lucky,” and what your college advisor will eventually call, “put down the study abroad pamphlets.”
Full disclosure, I have also been poisoned.
Yet here I am, still alive and well. I’ve survived it all.… Read More
I was a high achiever in high school, I had a 4.0, IB diploma and I got into my first choice school in the Ivy League on the other side of the country.
I didn’t think twice and I headed straight there without a doubt in my mind.
Once I got there, however, I realized I had no idea what I wanted to major in, I wasn’t sure how to… Read More
We checked in with alumna Marley Suarez, who took a gap semester on Carpe Diem’s East Africa program in Spring 2015. Learn where life has taken her post-Carpe Diem! What have you been doing since your Carpe Diem experience? Since finishing my Carpe Diem semester in 2015, I have continued to follow my wandering heart. Balancing a life of traveling—mostly back to East Africa with a stint around Southeast Asia—and… Read More
By Executive Director, Jenny Huq To the Parents of the Nkula Spring 2018 Students,
I have had the pleasure of speaking with some of you before your students departed for East Africa three months ago. Most of you I do not know directly; although, I feel a connection to all of you because I had the incredible opportunity to spend three weeks in Tanzania with your students.
I joined Carpe… Read More
By Sarah Pike You’ve probably dreamt of taking a gap year for many years and now that it’s about to be your reality, it’s important that you focus on getting the most out of the experience.
The first thought that might cross your mind is how awesome your Facebook page or Instagram account will be with all the updates and photos from your once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
But before you consider uploading… Read More
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Spring 2015 photo contest! Sharing photos can be an incredible way to tell stories and deepen your experience. We are in awe of the talent of our students and Overseas Educators and excited to share our top photos with you!
To see all of the photos from this past Spring semester, search for the hashtag #Cdephotos2015. …And now, read on… Read More
By Sarah Pike The more you’re looking forward to your long-awaited gap year experience, the less you want to wait, especially if you’re stuck in the middle of seemingly endless classes, dreaded exams, or just the drudgery of everyday work.
But if you can change your thinking and take a few steps in the right direction, you can make the time spent waiting more productive and enjoyable. Here’s how to… Read More
Storytelling Through Travel Photography
I felt like a caged zoo animal.
Traveling through India, I tried to blend into the environment by wearing traditional Indian clothing, a scarf to cover my curly hair, and a bindi between my eyebrows. I still stood out.
I was stared at, pointed at and my photo was taken by countless strangers. All this left me feeling exploited.
As a long-time photographer who has shot… Read More
After the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal this Saturday, here at Carpe Diem we are holding all of the people affected in our hearts and thoughts. Our three Latitudes students are safe, uninjured, and we are in communication with each of them. We also have a semester group in Northern India who are unaffected by the earthquake. Two of our students were volunteering in Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake.… Read More
On all of our Carpe Diem gap year programs, we politely ask that students leave their cell phones, computers, and any other wi-fi devices at home for the duration.
“WHAT?!! 3 MONTHS WITHOUT AN iPHONE?! OMG! WTF! LMFAO!”
The above response, though imaginary, is not far removed from what we sometimes receive. In the environment of today, “unplugging” is often seen as a radical gesture, something for neo-Luddites or social… Read More
What’s travel’s environmental impact? And how can you be a sustainable traveler?
Congratulations! You’ve decided to travel internationally during your gap year. You’re thinking about all the new people you’ll meet, the adventures you’ll have, the places you’ll go – but have you considered the environmental impact you’ll have?
“Impact?” you ask. “But I’ll be living out a backpack, maybe taking fewer showers, not driving a car….”
While that can… Read More
What does it mean to be alive? All around this vast earth, every human and every culture asks this question. The diversity of languages, religions, traditions, stories, and artwork is an attempt at an answer. Whether traveling across the world or exploring our own backyards, tapping in to the collective wisdom is a vital part of our own journey. Wade Davis defines the ethnosphere as “the sum total… Read More
Daydreaming about adventure? Restless with wanderlust? Wonder what it would be like to sail around the world or curious about indigenous peoples of the Amazon?
Us too. Here at Carpe Diem we’re always looking for ways to fuel that desire to explore.
That’s why we’d love to introduce you to these TED talks. Fair warning: you might need to clear out your schedule for the rest of the day because… Read More
