"We're looking for resourceful students who can think on their feet and are open-minded," said Jakelin Bonilla, UNC Global Gap Year Fellowship coordinator.

Jens Manuel Krogstad, USA TODAY

Students who take a year off to travel overseas can be better students for the experience.

Sydni Heron treated machete wounds and helped deliver a baby at a small-town clinic in Ecuador following her graduation from Ames High School in Iowa.

Now, she's headed to college to study nursing.

Heron, 19, took what in the U.S. remains an unconventional route to college by delaying enrollment one year to work and gain life experience, a concept known as a gap year.