Most C of C students began their college careers with the ink still drying on their high school diplomas, and are planning to complete the next four or so years uninterrupted.
However, a small population did not jump right into college months after high school graduation, or took time off while working toward their college diploma.
  Freshman Mariana Rius spent a year working at home and for volunteer programs in Thailand and Costa Rica before beginning at C of C in the fall.
   "I had lost motivation in going to school. I didn't want to learn or go to school just because I had to," she says.
Two days before the final deposit was due, Rius deferred enrollment to C of C and began developing her plan for the upcoming year while her friends were shopping for twin XL dorm bedding. She spent the first half of the year taking a few classes at a community college and working three jobs to earn money to travel.
   Rius then received Rescue and First Aid SCUBA certifications and took her newfound knowledge to Thailand to work for a marine conservation project, going on salvage and coral reef surveying dives, cleaning hundreds of pounds of trash off Thailand's beaches and planting trees. After two months in Thailand, she spent a month in Costa Rica volunteering in a daycare and orphanage.
"I organized all of the year myself," says Rius. "I learned I don't need to depend on others. I can pursue things I want to do with my own initiative."
For some, such as freshman Nick Berdux, time taken away from school was not his choice, but still a learning experience.
   Berdux says he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease his senior year of high school and was too sick to go to school. His parents didn't want him attending school in poor health so far from his native Richmond, Va., so he traveled with family and friends. His adventures took him all over the country and even abroad, from working on Obama's campaign to an Army Aviation convention in Tennessee, Disney World to Switzerland.
   "It was very strange not to have a structured curriculum to follow every day of the year, so I had to try and learn lessons from those around me instead," says Berdux. "It feels great to be back at school. I always liked to learn and school in general…My gap year made me appreciate school more."
   Senior Megan Lunan also appreciates the structure of school and scheduled activities, but found that a year and a half off after her junior year allowed her to better organize and prioritize her activities.
"I like being scheduled, but how much can you do without being exhausted?" Lunan says. “[Junior year] I realized, ‘Ok, I can't do 30 hours of work a week, crew and academics.'"
   For Lunan, her time spent out of the classroom and in the working world allowed her to re-evaluate what she wanted to do and not try and be a “super woman” juggling school, a full-time job and a demanding extracurricular schedule.
   "It helped me to take the pride factor out of everything," says Lunan. "Now I actually have time to do my homework."
Many students find themselves questioning how they want to spend their time in college - what classes to take, what extracurricular activities to participate in and where to work. Lunan has advice she discovered firsthand.
   "If you find you're doubting yourself…take a step back…It's all about realizing you can't do everything."