Stuart Leadership Gap Year Program
The Stuart Leadership Gap Year Program is your bridge between high school and college—a transformative experience rooted in the Goals and Criteria of the Sacred Heart. This program gives you intentional time and space to grow spiritually, intellectually, and personally before entering college.
During your gap year, you’ll step beyond the walls of school to explore who you are and who you are called to become. Through immersive experiences—whether serving others, engaging in cultural exchange, or practicing reflection—you’ll embody the Sacred Heart values of faith, intellectual curiosity, community, social justice, and personal growth.
This program is your opportunity to cultivate leadership, deepen your global awareness, and discern your purpose before taking the next step. You’ll return to your academic path more grounded, confident, and inspired—ready not only for higher education, but for a life of meaning and impact.
Your Gap year experience includes:
Core Formation (Required for All)
• Opening retreat (Goal I & II focus: faith and intellectual life)
• Weekly reflection seminar (journaling, guided discussions, spiritual practices)
• Leadership workshop series (public speaking, collaboration, ethical leadership)
• Closing capstone project (presentation of growth and learning)
Cultural Exchange Track: The Cultural Exchange track offers you the opportunity to broaden your worldview, cultivate intercultural competency, and discover the Sacred Heart mission in a global context. By living and learning within another culture, you will grow in empathy, adaptability, and awareness of global interdependence. Rooted in Sacred Heart values of faith, community, and respect for diversity, participants are invited to see the world through new eyes and embrace the call to build bridges across differences. Rooted in the conviction that faith must be put into action, you will be immersed in the realities of local and global needs while providing space to integrate these experiences with Sacred Heart spirituality.
- Study abroad or immersion program (e.g., Sacred Heart Network schools or partner institutions abroad)
- Language learning and cultural competency seminars
- Reflection on global interdependence (Goal IV focus)
Support & Formation Elements
- Spiritual Companioning
- Advisory & Vocational Discernment: Regular check-ins to guide purpose and college transition
Optional Additional Supports
- College Counseling Support Sessions
- Counseling Support Sessions
- Gallup CliftonStrengths Coaching
Eligibility
Applicants must be high school graduates
For most, it is a first chance to hold the reins of their lives for an extended period of time and choose what they want to do. Wielding this ability to choose, and taking responsibility for the results, is an empowering learning experience, to say the least. — Holly Bull, “The Possibilities of the Gap Year,” The Chronicle of Higher Education
Interest Form
Required
contact us
Dr. Marissa Muoio
Director of Strategic Initiatives
609.577.1217
mmuoio@stuartschool.org