With an assortment of programs and an abundance of history it's easy to see why people come to Antietam National Battlefield. So far working at the park has been a great experience. Alex and I have been moving through the departments and are very excited to begin our work with the LE's.
This past Saturday, as was promised by Steve Clark, Alex and I were vacuuming, dusting, and yes cleaning toilets. Even though it may not be the most glorious of jobs it is an important one. While cleaning the Visitors Center (until it was spotless) I realized that the place I was in was the face of the park. This is where the visitors begin their journey through history and the experience could be diminished had the bathrooms and floors looked dirty and unkempt. Even though each department works separately and sometimes has to do what they may not enjoy, every department works to create a better environment for the people who visit the park. The people who do these less then reputable jobs do it proudly and with a smile making the jobs not seem so bad after all.
Be proud of what you do because others are proud of us. Park Rangers should be proud because we are doing a great service to the country. One example of this was presented to me on the 3rd of July at the Solute to Independence, which is a big concert held every year attracting nearly 20,000 people to Antietam. I was stationed near a busy road next to the park and instructed to keep traffic moving. A young man dressed in street clothes approached me and said that he was in the Army. The next thing he said came as a shock. "Thank you for your service" he said to me explaining next that he feels that Rangers don't get enough appreciation for the great jobs that they do in parks across America. He shook my hand patted my shoulder and went on his way. I stood for a second shocked that a person in the Army was thanking me for my service. Needless to say I was proud that he shared his opinion with me. See you all next week. Stay proud and keep up the good work.
The ProRanger Philadelphia program is an academic, technical skills training, and internship program that is cooperatively administered by the National Park Service and Temple University. The program was established to recruit and train law enforcement park rangers for the National Park Service. Students take coursework during the academic year at Temple University and participate in internships at National Park Service sites during the summer. Follow their experiences here.
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