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Around the Globe in 7 months
How Baret Scholars Redefines the Gap Year experience
Interviewed by Farhad Anklesaria, Head of Baret Scholars South Asia
Embarking on a gap year is more than just a break from academics—it's a transformative journey that equips young students to tackle the world's challenges head-on. But the concept of a gap-year, like any other rewarding new adventure, can be quite intimidating for many. How will I benefit from a gap year? Is a gap year necessary? What will I do in a gap year? These are some of the most common questions students have.
A gap year isn't just about filling time; it's about empowering students to pause and discover their purpose. What’s more is that there are many promising gap year programs which provide students with an immersive learning experience through travel, field work and a carefully curated curriculum.
One such program is the Baret Scholars.
Named after the first woman to circumnavigate the globe in the 1760s, Baret Scholars is a selective program for 180 students to grow and mature as individuals. Over 7 months, students experience 7 regions: starting in New England in September and traveling through Paris, São Paulo, Istanbul, Nairobi, and New Delhi, ending in China and graduating in Japan. They study each culture through experienced speakers and artists, learn a local language, volunteer with local NGOs, and support fellows in research. Each region offers 105 fellowship options, including hiking the Appalachians, studying Bengal Tiger conservation, exploring Amazon biodiversity, learning urban planning in Saudi Arabia, or making art in Nigeria.
We hear from Bhagyashree, a Baret Scholars applicant from Mumbai, India, and the Founder of Empower Magazine. Coming from a state-board school, Bhagyashree's first international experience was as a Yale Young Global Scholar, where she engaged with a diverse liberal arts curriculum alongside students from over 150 countries. This exposure inspired her to pursue a fully-funded fellowship at the University of Oxford two years later.
There, she formed lifelong friendships, developed empathy and cultural understanding, and gained essential life skills. We were intrigued by Bhagyashree’s journey and sought her perspective on taking a gap year. In conversation with Farhad Anklesaria, Head of Baret Scholars South Asia, Bhagyashree explains why she believes a gap year can be transformative for students in finding their purpose.
Hey Bhagyashree! It’s so nice to hear from you. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your first international experience?
Bhagyashree: Hello, I’m Bhagyashree. I am twenty and I'm currently a Journalism student at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. I'm also the founder of Empower Magazine. I started Empower when I was 16 and it's been four years running a global publication by & for young people, creating critical media and aligning young people's passions for social change.
I never really had any global exposure until I was in 10th grade. A friend of mine recommended me to apply for YYGS. It was also exactly the time when I had started my magazine and worked with team members across different time zones.
Can you elaborate a bit more on your experience at YYGS? How did international immersion shape you as an individual and as a student?
Bhagyashree: So, what stood out to me at YYGS was their liberal arts curriculum. Most of my schooling in India focused on memorisation, but the structure of lectures at YYGS was very different. I was learning a wide range of topics—from Marxism to the Trolley Problem in Ethics and the Physics of Dance. It was very interdisciplinary. We weren't asked to memorize anything but were encouraged to share opinions, discuss, speak up, and listen to peers in break-out sessions. I remember that after one of our most memorable lectures on the Monad, we students voluntarily stayed up until midnight to discuss and expand on the lecture. I thought, ‘Wow! This is brilliant. Nobody has pressured us to stay up after a lecture, but we are still here, learning and engaging on our own free will.’
Bhagyashree during her fellowship at University of Oxford
That sounds very enriching. Was there anything about traveling and learning in a different place that was transformative to you?
Bhagyashree: Yes, it was. When I went for a fellowship to Oxford, I learned so much about adulting, navigation, history, and human connection. I had to reach my Oxford dorm from London Heathrow by myself, and back then, I had poor navigation skills as I had never travelled solo before. I had boarded the wrong bus and didn’t understand Google Maps, so I ended up asking 10 different strangers for directions. Turns out that people were actually super kind and each one guided me to my destination. I learned to trust my instincts, ask the ‘right’ strangers, and navigate.
At Oxford, I’d strike conversations with strangers to know their stories with my true journalist spirit. I met an 80-year-old alumna who told me about British India. I also met the Head Gardener, who had a fascinating PhD in nursery and plantations, and taught me about greenhouses and showed her collection of snake eggs and shells. I made a close British friend, too and after having a very moving conversation, she took me in a tight embrace. That embrace made me realize something beautiful—we could look different, come from various nationalities, cultures, and races, speak different languages and accents, but at the core, we all share the same range of human emotions and connect deeply on a very human level.
Some places on the Baret Route Map
That is so moving. I’m glad you had that experience and insight. Can you tell me what made you interested in the concept of a gap year? And how did you get introduced to Baret Scholars?
Bhagyashree: I’ve always prioritized pausing and reflection. As students, there's so much rush from high school to college, then to post-grad or a job, with little time to reflect. In all the race, there’s barely any time to reflect on our values, purpose, and ask oneself what do I seek from life? Where do my interests lie? How can I give my gifts to this world? Asking ourselves these questions rather than having them defined for us by others is very very crucial.
Secondly, through YYGS, Oxford, and other travels, I learned the transformative power of deep learning through cultural immersion. So, a travel-based program like Baret Scholars was a big tick for me. What stood out to me was that Baret is a year long program and not just semester long and it covered seven regions in the world which multiplied the amount of exposure one could get.
I find Baret Scholars to be a mixture of ‘and’s- structure and spontaneity, guidance and independence, study and travel. The program is like a liberal arts curriculum, covering a wide array of topics from arts to sciences, made more experiential through travel. There’s also language immersion, where you can learn a new language, practice a sport, or get college guidance from a Fellow. Additionally, Baret is affordable and inclusive due to its generous financial aid and scholarships. I appreciated how Baret’s application process was so holistic, considering not just grades and transcripts but also essays and videos to showcase one’s full creative potential.
“THE BARET SCHOLARS PROGRAM STANDS OUT FOR ITS UNIQUE BLEND OF STRUCTURE AND INDEPENDENCE, ALLOWING STUDENTS TO SELF-DESIGN THEIR FELLOWSHIPS WHILE TRAVELING THE GLOBE."
That’s so comprehensive. Thank you so much. Lastly, what application tip would you give to any prospective Baret Scholar?
Bhagyashree: I’d say take a holistic approach and stay true to yourself. Spend time reflecting on your values, why you want to be a Baret Scholar, and the most influential, memorable moments, people, and places that have shaped you. Tie these reflections into your story. Show all your academic, extracurricular, enterprising, artistic, emotional, moral, and spiritual sides—because all of this makes you whole as a person.
I’d also recommend applicants to read Baret’s "Before And Beyond" book to understand your 'why' for the program. More than anything, don’t stress about sending in the perfect application. Enjoy the process of reflecting and crafting your essays as if you were narrating your story to a dear friend who is listening to you with curiosity and compassion.
And for those second-guessing, I’d say just go ahead and give it a try. There’s no harm in applying, and if you get lucky, Baret truly is an experience of a lifetime.
"THERE'S SO LITTLE TIME TO REFLECT ON ONE'S VALUES, FIND OUT ONE'S PURPOSE, AND ASK ONESELF- WHAT DO I WANT FROM MY LIFE?"
HOW TO APPLY FOR BARET SCHOLARS
Eligibility- High school graduates or college students
Applications for 2025-26 cohort begin in October 2024.
To apply or know more about application timeline, requirements and scholarships,
go to baretscholars.org
About the Interviewer
Farhad Anklesaria is the Head of South Asia and a Founding member
of Baret Scholars.
You can reach out to him at farhad.anklesaria@baretscholars.org
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