Ethan Knight has been working within the world of Gap Years since 1996, when he took his own Gap Year to India, Nepal and Tibet. Back in those days the only options to taking an official Gap Year was through the Center for Interim Programs, and that’s exactly how he first heard about this strange thing called a Gap Year. After an inspired talk at his high school, he started a conversation with Interim Programs to discuss what would eventually turn into his own sojourn.
He is the founder Carpe Diem Education. A Gap Year and Travel Abroad Program. During his tenure at Carpe Diem Education, Ethan also founded the International Carpe Diem Foundation (now Carpe Mundi) – a non-profit dedicated to the inclusion of economically disadvantaged students in Gap Year programs and higher education. It is currently the only non-profit of its kind in Oregon.
Eventually, after 6 years at Carpe Diem he recognized a need for a professional association amongst Gap Year providers. The needs of the industry were demanding a hub for information-sharing, development of best-practices, and objective evaluation. Thus, in 2012 he worked with many in the field to found the American Gap Association.