Thinking Beyond Borders

Perhaps now more than ever, truly understanding global cultures is of the upmost importance.

Thinking Beyond Borders (TBB) offers outstanding cross-cultural learning and are designed to meet the specific needs of students transitioning to college and adulthood during their gap year. TBB alumni report a strong sense of purpose and direction for their studies and a sense of self that prepares them for a happier, more fulfilling life. We’ve combined field work experiences, fascinating readings, and daily seminars to make learning meaningful. There are no grades, tests, or essays in our programs. Learning is about your passions and impact on the world, not about performing for teachers or getting the highest scores.

TBB offers two programs: a global gap year and a Latin America gap semester.

TBB’s signature gap year program is an unparalleled adventure. You’ll live, explore, and learn in six countries with friends who’ll be with you for life. This is the ultimate gap year program if you want to make the most of your gap year and learn to create meaningful change in the world. During your 7 month adventure, you’ll learn about three main focus areas:

  • Unit 1, Food & Sustainability: Guatemala

    • Work on small plots with farming families seeking to bring healthy and sustainable practices to their region, Tecpán

  • Unit 2, Education that Empowers: Thailand

    • Explore how education empowers communities to improve health, support gender equity, and foster justice

    • Work in education centers in rural communities

    • Visit breathtaking Buddhist temples and immerse your senses in the rich smells, sounds, and colors of markets and festivals

  • Unit 3, Public Health: Ghana

    • Work in the beautiful Volta region alongside local professionals to improve community health conditions while reflecting on how resources, culture, and social structures affect these efforts

    • Be placed in multiple community clinics to support nurses and provide administrative support, in partnership with the government health department

    • Partner with community health workers to assist in the creation of materials for outreach workshops around hygiene, maternal health, and malaria prevention

In between each unit, you’ll immerse yourself in different cultures in enrichment weeks in Panama, Cambodia, and finally, Morocco.

Working in Ghana

Looking for a shorter adventure? Take a gap semester to live and learn in Latin America! You’ll become a part of families in two countries and learn Spanish through study and immersion. You’ll also learn how education can empower and how new innovations are creating more sustainable communities. And, you’ll do it all with friends who will be with you for life!

  • Unit 1, Education that Empowers: Costa Rica

    • Investigate how governments, nonprofits, and individuals use education to meet the needs of growing communities

    • Work to provide support to English teachers in public schools to understand education in rural Costa Rica

    • Live with local families and learn how parents and their children are affected by education

    • Work in schools in the Guanacaste Province, alongside English teachers in classrooms as teachers’ assistants

      Students at Burbujitas de Amor Daycare in Costa Rica

  • Unit 2, Sustainable Agriculture: Guatemala

    • Maintain quality of life, provide jobs for women and the elderly, and harness natural resources in a responsible manner

    • Live with indigenous families to learn the innovative ways rural people and governments are creating economic opportunity while preserving their environment and culture.

    • Work alongside a local farmers co-op to see how they balance the needs of people, profit, and planet in their efforts to increase sustainability

    • Spend four weeks in Tecpan, Chimaltenango helping the community prepare their land plots for planting, and providing extra labor for families who do not have enough people to tend to their land

Farming in Guatemala

In between, you’ll experience an unforgettable enrichment week in Peru.

Latin America Spring Semester: Enrichment week in Peru

Here’s what you can expect from any TBB program:

  • Extended homestays, at least 4 weeks

  • Cultural and linguistic immersion opportunities and authentic engagement with host communities

  • Hands-on experiential learning complemented by seminars

  • One on one mentorship with highly experienced and educated program leaders

  • Student driven research projects

  • One week culmination and graduation in Washington D.C., where students meet their political representatives on Capitol Hill

TBB is one of the founders of the of the Gap Year Association, having spent 10 years setting the standard for effective gap year programs. Our global operations are implemented in partnership with Cross-Cultural Solutions, a founding member of the International Volunteer Programs Association, the standard-setting body for safety and effectiveness for the entire industry. With over two decades of expertise in travel safety and knowledge of local communities, we have the most detailed policies and procedures to keep our students healthy and happy.

More info: https://thinkingbeyondborders.org

Graduation week in DC