When you’re exploring gap year programs for after high school, it can feel like your only real option is going abroad. The idea of living and serving in another country is exciting — but you may also feel there’s important work to do and so much to see right here in the United States.
One of the benefits of a gap year with Tivnu is that you don’t have to choose between a traditional gap year abroad and deep engagement closer to home.
Tivnu’s nine-month program is based in Portland, Oregon, where Jewish teens live in community, intern with local nonprofits, and build real skills. Then, after winter break, we travel to Nayarit, Mexico*, for a 12-day service immersion, working on an organic farm and experiencing life on Mexico’s Pacific coast. This rewarding trip brings the perspective of a gap year abroad into a program based in the U.S.
What a Gap Year Mexico Experience Looks Like
In Nayarit, you’ll live and work at an organic farm and community learning center that combines regenerative agriculture with vocational training. You’ll plant and harvest crops using sustainable practices, working alongside local leaders and youth.
Through this work, you’ll engage directly with issues of environmental stewardship, access to education, and economic opportunity — challenges communities are navigating both in Mexico and in the United States — while building relationships with local mentors and peers.
“We’re giving young people the opportunity to contribute, not just observe,” says Tivnu founder Steve Eisenbach-Budner. “When you work alongside people building something tangible together, you come to embody responsibility deeply, in a way that becomes part of you for the long haul.”
And it’s not all work. We’ll snorkel and whale watch in Pacific waters, take salsa classes, and learn traditional Mexican cooking. This blend of service and exploration allows you to experience Nayarit not as tourists, but as active participants in the community and culture.
The Benefits of a Gap Year
The beauty of a gap year with Tivnu is that you won’t stay in one place. Over nine months, you’ll experience:
- Portland: Internships with local nonprofits, living with other Jewish teens, and hands-on service supporting tiny house villages for people who were formerly unhoused.
- Pacific Northwest: Six trips across the region — from mountains to coastline — with hiking, camping in cabins, and time outdoors together.
- Nayarit, Mexico: An international service immersion working alongside local leaders and youth while navigating different languages, customs, and expectations.
You’ll return home not only with memories, but with new skills and insight.
“Our participants learn firsthand that the urgent issues that they’re grappling with in Portland and in the U.S. extend beyond any one country,” says Tivnu’s Eisenbach-Budner. “And they learn about the variety of ways people address these crises in vastly different settings. Opening one’s horizons this way is inspiring and profoundly motivating.”
Financial Support for Your Gap Year
Tivnu understands that the cost of taking a gap year can be overwhelming. That’s why we offer financial assistance to make our unique, integrated program accessible for all families.
“If this experience feels right for your teen, please reach out,” Eisenbach-Budner says. “We’ll do what it takes to make this incredible opportunity possible.”
Ready to Learn More? Attend an Info Session
Interested in what your gap year could look like with Tivnu? Join an upcoming information session to connect with our team, ask questions, and get a clear picture of daily life in Portland, the half-dozen trips in the Pacific Northwest, and the 12-day immersion in Mexico.
*We closely monitor regional conditions and plan travel with safety as a priority.
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Taking a gap year in the US can be as meaningful as doing one abroad.
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