Panelists to Discuss Benefits of 'Gap Year' Tonight

The public is invited to attend a presentation tonight titled “."

The event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Senior School on Academy Drive at Beaver Street in Edgeworth.

Youth Connect and Sewickley Academy have partnered on the event, which will feature a panel of experts, including:

• Claudia Gallant, Sewickley Academy’s assistant head of school and mother of a "Gap Year" participant. Gallant will discuss the long term benefits of a gap year on education and career choices.

• Amanda Thomas, MPhEd, MFTI of Forging Futures. Thomas will explain the rationale for gap year and the different reasons why students benefit by a “break” from the academic treadmill, such as an opportunity to mature, perhaps travel and experience other cultures, or perform community service work.

• Lynn Sanborne, MSW, school counselor at Sewickley Academy. Sanborne will share information from college admissions officers about the value they see in the gap year.

• Local high school alumni David Jimenez (Bowdoin College) and Todd Norton (Case Western), will discuss their own gap year experiences at home and abroad.

A question and answer session will follow the speakers' presentation. The event is slated to last approximately one hour and is free and open to the public.

The target audience is high school juniors and seniors and their parents.

is a group of concerned adults and students from schools and organizations in the area working to provide the information, resources, and support our young people need to avoid risky behaviors and enjoy their teen years.  

For more information on Youth Connect and the presentation, search on Facebook, visit www.youthconnectnews.blogspot.com or email youthconnect@hotmail.com.