We’ve just closed an incredible chapter of our lives at St. George’s School, and what a strange feeling it is!
One day we’re following our familiar routines — heading to the dining hall, laughing with friends between classes, and hitting practice with our teammates. The next, we’re making our own breakfast, free to hike or surf whenever we want. It’s a big adjustment, stepping out of the structure that’s been our whole world for four years.
This transition has us reflecting on everything — the experiences we’ve had, the people we’ve met, and the lessons we’ve learned. But it’s also got us looking forward to what’s next. At the heart of all this reflection? Service Academy.
Service Academy: Going Global
While Service Academy was always meant to be bigger than St. George’s, until now, it’s been firmly rooted in our school and the Newport community. Our focus has been local: inspiring both the SG community and Newport to create meaningful service opportunities while creating a scalable framework for others to apply. But as we step into the wider world, so does Service Academy. It’s time to define what Service Academy means beyond SG and Newport.
At its core, Service Academy is about discovering how to use our unique strengths to make the biggest possible difference in the world. For the past four years, SG has nurtured these ideas, providing the perfect environment for growth. Even as we expanded our audience beyond SG, our actions always centered on our school and local community.
We’re incredibly grateful for how SG has supported us, helping build our confidence and develop both Service Academy and ourselves. While we didn’t quite achieve our goal of creating a self-sustaining service ecosystem at SG, the school gave us the platform to dream big, take action, and plant seeds in fertile ground for something much bigger.
Our Gap Year: A Global Perspective on Service
We’ve made a big decision to take a gap year instead of going straight to college. Over the next twelve months, we’re diving into how giving back looks outside the United States and beyond the traditional Western philanthropic view we’re used to. We’ll be asking ourselves:
- How do we understand social challenges in different cultures?
- What new problem-solving approaches can we learn?
- How can we challenge our preconceptions to grow as individuals and global citizens?
As SG becomes a fond memory in our rearview mirror, we’re moving forward by stepping back from our structured academic life. We’re prioritizing personal growth and experiences that school often overlooks, focusing on becoming better people, not just better students.
Our local-first approach is expanding to a global view. We’ll explore service through various cultural lenses, local challenges, and diverse perspectives. Our goal? To discover what service can mean on a global scale and how we can engage authentically while adding value to the communities we visit.
Starting Fresh with Service Academy
This gap year is a chance to build on what we’ve done with Service Academy while starting fresh with open minds. We’re reaffirming our passion to understand the root of social challenges and pushing far out of our comfort zones. By immersing ourselves in new cultures and ideas, we’ll learn just how vast and diverse our world truly is.
During this year, we’ll carry with us the confidence and ideas we’ve developed, continuing to grow through adventure, cultural immersion, and mentorship. We’re excited to gain a deeper understanding of our place in the global community and can’t wait to share our experiences with you through our blog and social channels.
We want to express our immense gratitude to our families and to the University of Miami and Duke University for supporting us in this incredible opportunity. We promise to make you proud!
We’re thrilled to have you join us on this journey.
From a practical perspective, you will hear from us less often but more directly about what we are learning along the way.
Stay tuned for more updates as we explore service and community engagement around the world!
– Ryan and Thomas Growney
About Our Gap Year Journey
We’re Ryan and Thomas Growney, twin brothers and co-founders of Service Academy.
After graduating from St. George’s School in Rhode Island, we’ve embarked on a gap year to explore how different cultures approach problem understanding, community engagement, service, and social innovation.
Our journey will take us to various countries, including South Africa, where we’ll participate in the Tilting Futures program, and the Himalayas, where we’ll be joining the NOLS for a high-altitude mountaineering challenge. Throughout this year, we aim to challenge our assumptions, broaden our perspectives, and gather insights that will help us enhance our approach to social impact back home.
Ryan is particularly interested in scaling service initiatives to develop young leaders, while Thomas focuses on the personal connections and community belonging that service creates. By sharing our experiences, we hope to contribute to a broader dialogue about service, mentorship, community engagement, and cross-cultural learning.
We invite you to follow along with our journey, engage with our reflections, and share your own insights about service in diverse contexts.
Together, we can work towards creating more meaningful and impactful youth service ecosystems that benefit both young people and their communities.