Working in a gap year and how that changes the college perspective
By Clare Hart UA’25 and Jim Stellar
Clare graduated in the Spring of 2025, having recently posted a blog that was written in Clare’s senior year on the prevalence of stress in college students and cognitive-emotional (neocortex-limbic system) integration. That followed an earlier blog on her undergraduate interest in being a school psychologist.
The blog regarding my (CH) interest in becoming a school psychologist detailed how I felt I had “always” wanted, belonged to that occupation. This forced me to critically question what “always” means, which brought into question if that is the correct path for me, and if not, what is? I was accepted into UAlbany’s Fall 2025 School Psychology CAS program, but after writing the stress blog, I thought to myself, is this what I really want to do? This uncertainty played an important role in my decision to take a gap year and defer my acceptance to the CAS program. By delaying the pressure to make a decision, my overall stress was reduced which then pushed the stress forward another year. This brings me to now, a time in my life where my decisions are pending the decisions of others, and the start of my future is months away. But I still am unsure of how that future will look.
This gap year has given me the opportunity to think about what it is that I really want to do. I have been thinking a bit beyond the CAS program by also applying to a few Cognitive Psychology doctoral programs across the country, even while I remain interested in school psychology. All the while I am living at home which has allowed me to travel and spend priceless time with my parents.
The job I have taken is in the intake department of a water testing facility near my hometown nestled in the Catskill Mountains. My day-to-day involves solving problems related to the logistics of running a laboratory, all while harboring inter-departmental communication and working with customers to advise on what their water testing needs may be. Up until a few weeks ago, I was also tasked with managing the department while training my assistant to take over that manager role. She has since taken over which has allowed me to devote more time to writing and research, which I am very happy about.
While I really enjoy working here, I am the youngest in my department and was the first “Intake Manager.” This meant that I was not trained to manage the department, but expected to train someone to take my place. I had never managed before, but I had worked in the department for a while so I felt I had enough preparation and ability to do a good job. However, being the youngest came with some challenges, perhaps even put on by myself. This caused me to adopt a “fake it until you make it” approach. From the outside, I looked like I knew what I was doing, but on the inside I still feel unsure if I did. This mirrors aspects of the imposter syndrome as I felt I was not qualified enough for the job. In reality, I performed well and was able to train my assistant to go on to do the same. So maybe I was not an imposter after all.
While I may have been stressed at work, to mediate this stress I made an effort to prioritize a healthy work/life balance. I found that supporting a healthy balance reduced my feeling like an “imposter” and enabled me to create a self-definition outside of work. This support of a healthy work/life balance is something I have always felt is necessary to optimal functioning, and a habit that I feel is best started early. Building my self-definition following graduation has been tricky. I had been used to schooling for as long as I remember, and that has since been paused. While I enjoy the money, this experience has reinforced my drive and desire to learn, which is why I am looking to pursue graduate studies.
In contrast to the imposter syndrome, I recently attended a conference about Legionnaire’s disease where I was tabling alongside two coworkers. Administrators from nursing homes across the nation visited to discuss legionella testing, a specialization of the laboratory I am employed at. Nursing home administrators are concerned with legionella testing due to the deadly impact of Legionnaire’s on the elderly population. For some reason, I felt I had the opposite experience of having the imposter syndrome, whatever that may be called. I was there and felt like a true professional. But why did I have such a feeling of belonging? Perhaps I felt like I was surrounded with likeminded individuals, or maybe I felt like I was making a difference, a positive impact. Whatever the case may be, it may have solidified my realization that I enjoy working alongside likeminded professionals, ultimately supporting my lean towards acquiring further education, whether that be the UAlbany School Psychology CAS program or a Cognitive Psychology PhD program.
I (JS) say students read this blog again. CH lays out why reflection and experience working is important. So many people enter professions after college that later on they find they do not like it. They do not have what Dr. Eggan and I called professional wisdom, in a book that just came out last summer and by that very title. The idea there is that a student’s direct experience complements the fine academic college education they are receiving from their major, their minor, and their general education courses. Furthermore, that direct experience we argue in the book is brain-natural in a way helps students get a grip on what they are planning academically and makes it more likely that they will end up in the right profession that suits them. That experience can come in college from an internship or it can come after college in a gap year. Or you students can skip it and just take the chance that the first idea you had for a career was the right one. CH and I (JS) think that all college students should jump into the world outside college and get the feel of what you might be doing or just how the world of work actually works.
