Farewell Colonial NHP

My final two weeks at Colonial National Historic Park could not have gone better.  I spent them with the protection division, which meant I got to go out on patrol almost every shift.  I met with Deputy Superintendent Steve Williams and Superintendent Kym Hall, which was wonderful of them to squeeze me in their busy schedules.  I also got to work on traffic stop scenarios as well as proper handcuffing.  One of the last days I did a mock driving course with the acting Chief Ranger (only one cone was harmed in the process).

The whole experience at COLO was wonderful, everyone I worked with was eager to share their experience about working in the park service and other agencies.  Each division I worked with was willing to work with me, showing me how their division keeps the park functioning.

I cannot thank everyone I worked with enough for their patience, and willingness to take time out of their busy schedules to work with me.  I learned so much about the Park Service and hearing about different peoples careers and details helped me (slightly) figure out where I want to go with my career.            

Large Amounts of Goat Bones

Last week I finished up my second week with the Cultural Resource Management division, as well as my 40-hour conservation project. For my project I assisted the CRM staff in taking inventory of the park's many resources.

The first week was largely spent getting familiarized with the different branches of the division. I learned about the parks library and photo collection, one of the few in the NPS, curated by one of only a few head librarians working in the agency. I got to visit the park's archaeology lab and see where relics are cleaned, sorted, reconstructed, labeled, and stored. The museum branch allowed me to tag along as they presented a meticulously reconstructed navigation tool to the private investor that helped fund it. The amount of detail and time taken to restore this object was incredible and plain to see and it was very cool to get to see the final product, which will hopefully be displayed in the near future.

The actual inventory-taking brought me all over the park and allowed me to interact with dozens of different types of artifacts that the park possessed. I traveled around with curator as we counted and cataloged items in the Bishop White House, Ben Franklin's Print Shop, the Declaration House, Old City Tavern, and more. I also got to clean and sort artifacts in the archaeology lab, handle the park's extensive records collection, and help fellow intern Joanna in her cataloging of the items in second bank. In addition, I got to see the park's collection storage areas, containing everything from vases to ship masts to busts of Julius Caesar. The collection also contains, as I ascertained firsthand, hundreds and hundreds of goat bones, along with clam shells and other animal bones, which are kept (in case you are wondering) in order to facilitate future research into the eating habits and food locations of people in the 18th and 19th centuries. I ran into small facts, and strange items, like these all over in my time with CRM. It was impressive to see the sheer amount of items the park possessed and know that I still only saw a fraction, everyone in the division was very knowledgeable and able to answer any of my questions and helped to make my time very enlightening and fun.

Last week at Independence!

Administration and Motivation: My Week at Antietam

Money has an enormous impact on many things, and last week I learned that the National Park Service is no exception. I had the privilege to travel from my place in Monocacy National Battlefield to Sharpsburg, Maryland, home of Antietam National Battlefield. Being our sister park, we share an Administrative staff with Antietam. Administration was the division where I had the least amount of knowledge before spending time with these amazing workers and people. I was lucky enough to follow around Kathy, our Administrative Officer, and Corey, our Budget Analyst.

Totally candid! Corey let me look over his
shoulder as he shared his knowledge.

The administration is mostly behind the scenes, but very involved when problems arise. I learned that our administration is so important because they have so many responsibilities that have a direct impact on many people. One of their duties is dealing with employee's money. They oversee and review the payroll, deal with the different kinds of leave time, and even work with the hiring of the best qualified individuals. They use so many different programs, and the most challenging part of my week was trying to comprehend all of the acronyms. My dad always tells me to never use an acronym if I can't tell you what it stands for, so I tried my best. We used FPPS (Federal Personnel Payroll System), PAR (Personnel Action Request), iQMIS (Internet Quarters Management Information System), SMIO (Safety Management Information System), and the be-all and end-all of programs, FBMS (Financial Business Management System). Yes, it is a lot to remember, but it is crucial to have so many procedures involved to ensure that money is being used in the best and most appropriate way. Corey shared with me that "FBMS has created so much accountability for what we do because everyone can see it, and everyone is involved." 

Aside from dealing with employee's money, they also deal with the park's money and property reports. These people have a stressful role and do a great job. I was thankful that in the middle of the week, they gave me the opportunity to follow former Temple ProRanger Jay Copper. 

Temple ProRangers of the past and the present.
Jay and I in front of the Visitor Center at Antietam National Battlefield. 

I want to thank Law Enforcement Officer Jay Copper for allowing me to tag along with him for a whole day. It is inspirational to see someone who was in my shoes a few years ago, now succeeding as a full-time Ranger. He answered every question that I asked (and there were many) and gave me advice that I will remember as I go forward. This experience served as motivation to continue on and make the most of my remaining time at Monocacy. Again, thank you Jay and the rest of the staff at Antietam for having me this past week. 

Only one week left!