Asides

On Monday, writing for The Independent, Tom Griffiths (founder of gapyear.com ) explained how by having a ‘dynamic gap year’ helps you to stand out from the crowd. No longer are employers and universities soley looking for straight A students. Such a high proportion of students in the UK are going to University and coming away with a good grade, that it makes it extremely difficult for employers to differentiate between applicants.

Increasingly, people that have taken worthwhile gap years have that little bit extra on their CV that makes them stand out of the crowd. People can spend their gap year, travelling; volunteering; gaining worthwhile paid employment… the possibilities are endless.

At Oyster, we believe that to achieve the most in your year off you should do a worthwhile overseas project. When people tell me that they will be getting a round the world ticket for their gap year, I always suggest that they consider staying in one location for 3 months or so. That way they will be able to call somewhere home (and not just be a tourist) and use their skills to assist a local community.

How did you spend your gap year? Maybe you are an employer that struggles to differentiate between applicatants… all comments are welcome

Click here for the full article in The Independent.

Many regular readers will recall my piece in the Winter 07 Newsletter about our presence on Facebook. Thank you to all of you who have become ‘Fans of Oyster’. I felt the page was quite restrictive on what we could do so I have just launched a new Oyster Facebook Page. Please do become a Fan and ask all those burning questions that you may have! For those of you that have already had the experience of a lifetime with Oyster, why not upload your pictures and video clips for future participants to see? Please do use the wall and discussion boards so that we can make the page a ‘fountain of all knowledge’!

Click here to go straight to the page and become a fan!

It is really encouraging for us at Oyster that so many of our volunteers come back to the UK not only wanting to return to their destination as soon as possible but to raise money for their projects. Romania is by far our most popular destination to return to, partly because of it’s location but mainly because the volunteers really do fall in love with the country and work. This year Oyster has worked alongside four volunteers who went out over the summer to raise money for the family homes. We took a picture that the children did together and have designed and printed a Christmas card. The four volunteers will then sell these 1000 cards and all money raised will go to improve these family homes.

We also have a returned Romanian volunteer putting on a concert to raise money. Celia Newell who went with us in January is hoping to raise £1000 for a family home dedicated to disabled children. The concert is on Sunday 16th December 3.00pm at St Chads church in Shrewsbury.

Oyster has been working alongside Tree Aid for 6 months now. Tree Aid’s mission is to tackle poverty and improve the environment in Africa’s dry lands. This includes establishing a water supply, providing tools and conserving areas of existing mature forest.
We have been offering our participants the chance to split the cost with us to offset their flight. I am delighted to announce that we have now raised £340 for Tree Aid which will make a big difference. Many thanks to all our participants who have opted for this scheme.

You can visit the Tree Aid website here

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting a study by two economists at the University of Western Australia that claims to show taking a “gap year” translates into better marks at university!