Byron Dobson

Democrat senior writer

For Joe O’Shea, director of Florida State University's Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement, the news that President Obama’s daughter Malia was taking a year off before heading to Harvard couldn’t have come at a better time.

Earlier this year, FSU announced it was offering freshmen accepted for this fall the option of taking a gap year and that the university had $50,000 in scholarship money to assist students in their ventures during the year.

That makes FSU one of the two public universities in the country, the other being the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, to offer the financial incentive for students, said O’Shea.

O’Shea, a heralded honors graduate of FSU and advocate for student engagement, is in Boston, where the American Gap Association’s board is meeting. O’Shea is board president of the association, which advocates for the option, conducts research and helps shape policy.

“We were very aware of the access problem,” O’Shea said. “Students who weren’t interested might become interested in Florida State.”

So far, 35 freshmen have applied for the gap year choice, O’Shea said. Students who apply for FSU’s gap year option will be considered for a scholarship of up to $5,000.

O’Shea, author of the book, “Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs,” was on the PBS New Hour to explain Gap Year, which resulted in FSU also getting exposure.

“All the media coverage has focused attention on gap years and Florida State has emerged as a leader in gap year education,” he said.

O’Shea explained that one goal of the national organization is to help educate the public about the gap year. It doesn’t mean that students merely decide to spend a year on their parents’ couch, he said. Rather, more and more colleges and universities are promoting it as a way for students to contribute to society through structured work with nonprofits or community-based organizations at home or abroad. The goal is to help students gain a better understanding of themselves, of their value and interests, and to be better prepared to enter college with that background.

Students need to connect with programs that are “educationally purposeful, deliberate,” and make them “challenge assumptions about themselves,” O’Shea said.

Examples include working with nonprofits overseas that are focused on farming and developing food resources, working in an inner-city school or other settings that help students break out of their elements.

“If a student is just hanging around, it could be a negative,” he said. "We want to unlock the potential they have.”

Hege Ferguson, director of admissions at FSU, said the university encourages students to take this route.

“FSU believes in educating global citizens and we see taking a gap year as another opportunity for our students to engage in activities that promote social awareness and responsibility,” she said. “Participating in a gap year experience has been popular in Europe and Australia for many years and as we become more and more globally connected, U.S. students have become much more interested in this concept.”

While Florida A&M University does not offer the gap year option, once a student is admitted, she has the flexibility to determine which semester to start, a spokeswoman said. The university also encourages students to study abroad before graduating through programs like International Education and the President's Passport Initiative.

O’Shea said another reason for FSU offering the financial incentive is to encourage access for students who want to participate in the program but who need financial assistance. Once they have been accepted to FSU, they can apply for the Gap Year standing. Students must show they are serious about the year’s deferment. They are asked to describe what they plan to do, how the opportunity will help them grow personally, what expenses they will incur and how the experience will enhance their time at FSU.

Not all of the 35 students applying for the gap year are also applying for the financial assistance, Ferguson explained.

“Most students have indicated that while receiving some financial support would be great, it will not be the determining factor in deciding if they participate in a gap year experience or not,” she said.

O’Shea said an FSU committee is meeting May 13 to review the applications and make final determinations.

“We are going to have to address the access problem,” O’Shea said of universities and government. In addition to the example of FSU offering scholarships, and similar programs established by private institutions like Princeton and Tufts, which offer students partnerships with established nonprofits overseas, federal and state governments need to identify resources.

“We know how transformative gap year education can be,” he said. “We want all students to have the advantage.”

O’Shea said he hopes the attention that gap year education is getting because of Malia Obama’s decision will bring more exposure to the program and encourage students who previously might not have considered it, to do so.

“If Malia Obama can do it, so can I,” O’Shea said of the message he hopes it brings.

“This is the biggest thing to happen to gap year in the U.S. ever,” he said. “It gives us a new level of special recognition. We hope we are spearheading a new trend in higher education.”

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

Learn more:

For more on FSU’s Gap Year Program, visit http://admissions.fsu.edu/freshman/gapyear/

For more information on the American Gap Association, visit http://www.americangap.org/