It Unfolds

Then, in 2008, when I was just sixteen, I had my first real rangering experience. By this time, my whole family was very aware of my ambitions. (As illustrated in the copious park ranger merchandise, books, and comments directed toward me). There happened to be a National Monument just down the street from us, Timpanogos Caves National Monument. That year, in the early spring, my forward Father decided to invite himself up to the Administration Office and asked what a kid in my situation could do to be involved with the park. They told him about the B.A.T.S. program (Behind a Tour Specialst). It was for youth fourteen and older to volunteer in the park on cave tours. As touching and breaking formations was one of the foremost troubles the cave combatted, having someone, even a teenager, in uniform, with a flashlight, following behind the tour helped keep everyone together and discouraged possible wrong doers.

And so my involvment with the National Park System began.I started volunteering that summer and I knew I was in the right place. I know it sounds cheesy to say I had found my calling in life, but it is truly the most appropriate term. It is one thing to read about something in a book and like it, but an entirely different matter to experience it and love it even more.

I spent two summers as a volunteer and accumulated over one hundred hours. By the end of the summers I would start to get a little tired of the tours. That is why getting involved in what you like is so important! It really helped me to start to think about what kept me interested and what direction I should start to push this career in. I also realized I knew so little about how the National Park Service really worked, and this was a good way to get a feel for the system.