The Flight School has chosen to reimagine the gap year, instead, calling it a “launch year.” Could you share the message and purpose behind this rebranding?
The transition after high school shouldn't be a gap to fill, but a launch pad for everything that comes next. When I was 18, I was what we'd now call an "excellent sheep"—head down, collecting gold stars, marching toward what seemed like the only destination that mattered: admission to a selective college. I played the game well, but standing at the finish line, the achievement felt hollow. I couldn't shake a nagging question: Whose race was I running?
The Flight School reimagines this transition as a transformative rite of passage, combining ancient wisdom with modern technology to create something entirely new. We're not filling a gap—we're creating a foundation. For the next generation to thrive in a world that's never changed this fast, they need more than a map—they need a compass.
You’ve previously discussed that the design of the launch year has been inspired by some traditional rites of passage of various cultures that emphasize finding oneself on a journey that extends beyond the comfort zone. What are the international and cultural experiences that have shaped this vision for the launch year?
Throughout history, cultures worldwide have recognized the developmental magic on the cusp of adulthood—when a young person has the maturity to leave home but hasn't yet fixed their values and identity. For over two decades, I've studied these transformative traditions firsthand—from extended stays at the Mormon missionary training center and Thai monasteries to visits with Nordic Folk Schools across Scandinavia.
The Nordic Folk Schools model is particularly inspiring as we envision a modern, secular equivalent. In the 1880s, visionary leaders across the Nordic countries recognized that rapid urbanization and social change required a new kind of education. They created a network of secular, civilian retreat centers where young people could leave home, develop inner capacities like empathy and resilience, and build a sense of civic responsibility that transcended their local community.
Even today, up to 20 percent of Nordic youth participate in these programs after high school. What's remarkable is that the focus isn't on what you're doing in the world – it's about who you're becoming. The schools teach skills like inner directedness and active citizenship, and crucially, there's no final exam. As history shows, in times of extreme change, those without an internal compass often turn to external sources for stability. The Nordic Folk Schools helped create strong, stable democracies by investing in young people's inner development during times of profound change—exactly what we need today.
At top-tier universities, students now feel that the college experience has become more ‘transactional’ than ‘transformative’ – with a to-do approach to completing a degree. What do you believe is the problem with higher education in its current state?
The world has never changed this fast, but it will never change this slowly again.
Our educational institutions were designed for a different era – when knowledge was scarce and memorization mattered. Today, we have the world's information in our pockets, yet we're still teaching to tests that AI can pass in seconds. We're expecting students to choose majors before they've found their missions.
What's particularly troubling is how our most prestigious universities have become places where, in the words of one Princeton senior, "purpose goes to die." Elite institutions could be launch pads for ambitious talent to pursue meaningful impact. Instead, they're funneling graduates into corporate jobs that put profit before purpose, and private gain over public good. At Harvard, about 60 percent of recent graduates took jobs they themselves label as "selling out"—a term that used to be disparaging, but apparently no longer is.
Young people's idealism is one of humanity’s most precious resources. It’s time to stop wasting it!
That's why we're committed to making The Flight School accessible to all through need-based funding—because talent is universal, but opportunity isn't. If we're going to solve humanity's greatest challenges, we need to help the rising generation orient toward purposeful paths sooner—not after a midlife crisis!
You have spoken before about one of the most widely adopted educational theories by philosopher Paulo Freire, the Banking Model, which posits that knowledge is to be deposited into the student. How does your model of learning disrupt this age-old institutional thinking?
At The Flight School, we combine timeless wisdom with modern technology to create something unprecedented—a learning journey where Fellows are co-creators, not passive recipients. Our reimagined faculty aren't traditional academics—they're practitioners who preach what they practice.
We believe a good student isn't just someone who performs well on tests—it's someone who learns from every teacher, who crafts their own syllabus when none is assigned, and who stays curious beyond the classroom.
In a world of artificial intelligence, we're doubling down on skills that are authentically human:
- Intuition to trust inner knowing
- Discernment to find clarity in complexity
- Connection to our shared humanity
- Courage to build a world that works for everyone
While many student opportunities exist for international community service, this form of traveling is often criticized as superficial “voluntourism.” What are your thoughts on brief and tourist-oriented service? How does the launch year offer something beyond these opportunities?
There's a profound difference between traveling to "help" and immersing yourself somewhere long enough to be transformed. Too often, well-intentioned service programs perpetuate what my friend Courtney Martin calls “The Reductive Seduction of Other People’s Problems”—the dangerous oversimplification of complex challenges in communities we barely understand.
At The Flight School, we flip this paradigm. As Daniela Papi-Thornton argues in her seminal work From Service Learning to Learning Service, we need to move from a mindset of serving to one of learning. You aren't equipped to serve until you've been somewhere long enough to understand it intimately—which is especially hard in a community that’s not your own.
Our Fellows don't go out to change the world—they immerse themselves in new contexts to be changed by them. This humility and deep listening are foundations for meaningful impact over time.
The Flight School, in its mission towards creating an immersive experience, aims to partner with as many diverse, international collaborators as possible. What has been the organization’s approach to finding and building relationships with international networks? How does geographical diversity promote the transformative experience of the launch year?
The Flight School is global by design because our world's greatest challenges—and opportunities—transcend borders. While there are many excellent campus-based leadership programs, our pilot cohort includes Fellows from sixteen countries across six continents, creating a powerful laboratory for understanding different lived experiences and perspectives.
Our virtual platform and reimagined faculty include practitioners and wisdom teachers from every corner of the world. As my friend Tristan Harris says, "We're all on team human—we just don't know it yet." In a world of increasing polarization, we need to double down on our ability to connect across cultures, to see ourselves in others, and to work together toward our collective flourishing.
Being the disruptive enterprise it is, how does the Flight School deal with challenges such as resistance to change, or breaking the status quo? What have been your guiding principles in pioneering this disruption?
We're not building for the market—we're building for the mission. It would be easier to create another gap year program that gives students what they think they want. Instead, we're creating what we know the next generation needs: a new template for learning, launching, and leading that scales to the size of the challenge.
Our north star is unleashing a generation brave enough to break with the status quo and bold enough to build what's next. We're combining ancient wisdom with modern technology to make this transformative experience accessible to young people everywhere. By 2035, we aim to launch one million leaders who put collective flourishing before private gain.
With fears of entering a hostile job market and the prevalent adoption of AI automation, many students are confused about secure career pathways. How does an experiential learning experience fit into this ever-changing digital world, and the evolution of modern careers?
In a world of AI, the most valuable skills aren’t “hard” or “soft”—they’re regenerative—the things that replenish and strengthen over time. These include learning how to learn, finding clarity in complexity, and having the courage to align one's life with one's convictions. There is no "future-proof" career path beyond becoming a curious, self-directed learner who can adapt and grow.
Through our unique blend of experiential learning, cohorts, coaching, and curriculum Fellows develop both the inner compass and outer skills needed to navigate a world of unprecedented change. They join a lifelong network of peers and mentors who continue to support their growth and impact long after the launch year ends.
Lastly, what advice would you like to share with young students who are in the decision-making process to choose how to dedicate their time post-graduation?
Pause. Look up. This isn't a suggestion to get behind—it's an invitation to get clear. The conveyor belt of expectations – from high school to college to career—is entirely made up. You have permission to question it all.
Just because one game has been put in front of you doesn't mean it's the only one worth playing. Find the courage to ask: Whose race am I running? What makes me feel most alive? What if everything I've been taught about success, happiness, and impact isn't true?
A Launch Year, when done by design and not default, isn't a detour—it's the foundation for everything that comes next. At The Flight School, we're making sure this opportunity is accessible to anyone anywhere who is ready to take flight.
Ms. Abby Falik spoke with Anaya Sheth on January 31st, 2025. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.To follow Falik’s work, you can subscribe to her Substack here. The views expressed in this piece are the interviewee's own and are not reflective of the views of the HIR.
