On March 23rd a group of students from Temple University were presented in front of many distinguish guests and were formally announced as the pilot cohort for the newly developed "ProRanger Philadelphia" program. These thirteen students with majors ranging from Criminal Justice to Horticulture, and one undecided student, were selected from many applicants to lead the way for this new and exciting program. This program, by combining educational and practical training, will result in participants being placed into full time tenure positions with the National Park Service upon graduation. This program was put in place to train the next generation of Law Enforcement Park Rangers for the Northeastern Region. Eight parks including Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Gettysburg National Military Park, Colonial National Historical Park, Prince William Forest Park, Morristown National Historical Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and Fort McHenry National Monument have agreed to host these students for the upcoming summer for internships. During this internship students will come into contact with all aspects of the National Park System and will have a better idea of the day-to-day operations of the park. All of the students after recently being told which parks they are being assigned to for the summer are very excited. When a student was asked about what he thought about the program, the first thing out of his mouth was "It is a dream come true!" These dreams which once felt out of reach for some of the students are now coming true and are sure to produce some very well rounded Law Enforcement Park Rangers. This Blog will give the students the opportunity to share there separate journeys through this program and will hopefully inspire many more prospective candidates to take the next step in achieving the dreams they have of someday working for the National Park Service.
