Introductions!

 

Hi everybody! I’m Anna Howard, I’m a senior majoring in criminal justice at Temple University, and I’m a member of ProRanger Cohort 7.

My college journey started off a little unconventionally – I spent my first year of school in Tokyo, at Temple’s Japan campus – but before I even applied to Temple, I knew I was interested in the ProRanger program. I was initially attracted to the ProRanger program because of its internship opportunities – who wouldn’t want to spend a summer or two in a national park? – and because I found the idea of working outdoors really appealing. Since joining the program, I’ve gained an interest in law, law enforcement, and emergency management. I started working at Temple’s Office of Emergency Management as a student worker in 2019 and have been there ever since. While I have had a wide range of interests and considered a lot of different majors (including environmental science, geology, and even technical production for theater), the one constant in my life has been a passion for the outdoors and a desire to get involved in protecting our natural spaces.

I grew up utilizing state and local parks with my family and friends. We are so fortunate in Philadelphia to have access to the Wissahickon Valley Park, which has about 50 miles of trails, and I’ve spent countless hours hiking and walking the family dog in the park over the years. Beginning in pre-school, I went on yearly camping trips to Cape Henlopen State Park with my family and a group of family friends, all the way until high school. Here’s me with the camping crew, looking stylish in the pink pants:

In college, I have less time for camping, but my aunt and I have a tradition of getting in some backcountry canoe camping in Everglades National Park (one of my favorite places on Earth) whenever I visit my extended family in Florida. 

These experiences have left me with a deep respect and gratitude for public lands. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of protecting and providing safe access to our parks. During my summer internship, I hope to get a closer look at everyday life in a national park, to gain perspective on how parks work from the inside, and simply to absorb as much information as possible. As is often said both to and by ProRangers, I will do my best to “be a sponge”. Although I don’t know exactly where I’m headed yet, I’m very excited to be able to play an active role in park operations and to give back to the park system I get so much out of. Here’s to a great summer!

The Start of Many Firsts

Hello my name is Laura Patton, I have been a part of the ProRanger Program for almost 3 years now.

I am an Environmental Studies Major at Temple University so nature is a big interest of mine.

I’ve wanted to be a ranger since I was in high school and started working at Nockamixon State Park.

I quickly became very close to the rangers at my park because of how many times they saved us!

I am now a supervisor lifeguard and normally work at the park 6 days a week in the summer.

I never wake up and dread going to work, that's how I knew I wanted the park service to be my

future career. We heavily rely on the park rangers to help keep the patrons safe and watching

them quickly made it a dream job of mine. When I transferred to Temple I didn’t know about

the ProRanger program but my advisor told me about it and I quickly signed up that same day! 

        

  Practicing Repelling at Leadership Camp                    New River Gorge in WV

The ProRanger Program has taught me so much. We have the ability to talk to many rangers

at different levels of the park service and learn from their experiences. My goal is to go out west

to learn more about search and rescue. Every time I talk to a ranger who has experienced search

and rescue they always get really excited telling their stories. The job will definitely have tough days

but I think it will be very rewarding. I passed my EMT course and now just have to start volunteering!

I hope on my internship I get to meet some rangers who will show me the trails and really get an idea

of what a day to day life looks like. I'd love to build my resume with more certificates during my summer

internship. I hope to learn more about boats for water rescue and boat stops. 

           Olympic National Park

My dream park is Olympic National Park in Washington. The park is the most beautiful place I’ve

been in America and I can’t see myself ever getting tired of it. Every trail seems like you're hiking in

a fairytale; similar to middle-earth in Lord of the Rings! I love any terrain with mountains and moss,

so Washington is a dream! I love parks out west the most because of the ancient trees and people

are always so nice out there. The Eastern region has some beautiful parks as well, they are all so

unique. I spent a week at Acadia and my favorite part was stargazing and hiking the precipice trail.

It was a really beautiful park and has great fish and chips up there! If I’ve learned anything it's that

every park has something to learn from and that’s what fascinates me about the National Park Service.

                         

                                              Precipice Trail at Acadia in Maine

Nice to meet you!

Hello there, I am Carlos E. Orellana and I am a part of Cohort 7 of the ProRanger program. Currently, I am a Senior at Temple University majoring in Criminal Justice. Born in New Jersey but raised in Pennsylvania, I am a first-generation college student as both of my parents are from El Salvador. I spent most of my life living in the Christmas City of Bethlehem, PA. I had never really lived in an urban environment, so going to college in Philadelphia was my opportunity to broaden my world experience. Throughout the coming summer, I will be posting about my adventures at one of the many great National Parks that make up these United States. 

Checking out the cannons at Harpers Ferry National Battlefield Park 

When I first came to Temple Univerity in 2017, I found that the career pathways available to me were vast. I first encountered the ProRanger Program when Ranger Fernandez came to my professional development class and informed me of the kinds of opportunities this program had to offer. I still remember going to the panel interview and seeing all the Rangers with their equipment and uniforms, all of whom came from various parks across the country, while the room filled with over 40 candidates who were also interested in joining the program. After doing a mock Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) I was nervous but glad that I had applied to the program. Before this, I had never really known about the National Park Service or even gone to a national park. It had turned out that I had been to few and never even knew it. Once I did, I fell in love with the opportunity to receive training to work in a career that allows me to not only be hands-on but also give back to some of our nation’s most valuable resources.

 

The Cohort and I receiving traffic stop tips from Ranger Greene 

During my summer internship, I hope to learn to be a better communicator both by gaining insight from other rangers and by engaging with the public. I just want to be able to receive any wisdom to help operations at the park run smoothly. I look forward to the privilege of working alongside other rangers and learning how they adapt against any and all obstacles. I am super excited about what is to come!

 

Until then,

ProRanger Carlos