Gap Year students graduate

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Eight people who took part in the 2014 Challenge Marist Gap Year graduated in a ceremony that took place at St Joseph’s Church in Mount Victoria in Wellington last Sunday.

The event was attended by the Gap year students’ families and friends as well as representatives and friends of Challenge 2000 and the Society of Mary.

Each of the graduates had an opportunity to speak honestly about their experience of the Gap Year, its highs and lows.

A number of them talked about how a group had gone from being a bunch of strangers to a community of friends.

They were grateful for the opportunity to be challenged to move out of their comfort zones, to meet people from different backgrounds and cultures.

The experience enabled them to discover skills and strengths they did not know they had.

One of the leaders of the Gap Year programme, Kitty McKinley, said she hoped that the Gap year had provided its participants with a positive experience of the Catholic Church meeting the needs of a new generation.

The other Gap year programme leader, Heath Hutton, was farewelled.

After a number of years with the programme he will be moving on to new challenges in 2015.

For the last five years The Society of Mary has assisted Challenge 2000, to provide eight young people with the opportunity to take part in a Gap Year programme.

Ideally participants have just completed Year 13 and wish to gain real life experience before choosing their future careers. The programme is also suitable for a young person who wants to take “time out” from University or work.

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