I did my summer internship at Wilderness Awareness School (WAS) in Washington. WAS is a wilderness school that seeks to help people connect with nature and develop wilderness skills such as: bird language, animal identification, basic plant knowledge, etc. WAS runs two types of summer camps: day camps and overnight camps. I volunteered at a day camp near my house, and at a ranger overnight camp held on a piece of land owned by the school.
Honestly, I chose to do my internship at WAS because it was convenient. I travel to Washington every summer. My dad was the school’s program director for a while, and I did WAS’s yearly programs from the ages of three and a half to nine, I practically grew up in the WAS community, so my internship was a no-brainer.
My mentor situation was somewhat complicated. Sam Bowman is in charge of WAS’s summer camp volunteers, but he wasn't who I worked with day to day. At my day camp, I worked with an instructor named Nicole. At my ranger camp, I worked with Sienna. I often when to her and Connor, another instructor, for advice.
The day camp I worked at was at Tolt McDonald Park, a park that I grew up near and know well. Nicole and I worked with a group of eight-year-olds and got to teach them all about their surroundings. She taught me a lot and helped me accomplish many of my personal goals such as leading activities and learning about group dynamics. I was able to lead games, teach kids about plants, show them where to look for tracks, and even plan out what the group did on Thursday. One of the most important things I learned from her was to pay attention to the group’s energy. She often changed up the plan for the day or shifted to another activity if the energy was too high or too low, and I found that tactic to be helpful throughout my internship.
The ranger camp was exhilarating. During my day camp, I was exhausted most days, but that wasn't the case for the ranger camp. I worked from 9 a.m. on Sunday to 7 p.m. on Friday and was full of energy. When I was 12, I got to do this camp, and this summer, I was a volunteer. I got to guide these kids through the camp and all of the amazing experiences it offers.
My internship was full of incredible experiences and allowed me to learn and grow as a person. The most valuable thing I learned is that I want to go back to WAS. I love the school and all of their programs. I recently applied to be a summer camp instructor at WAS and was offered the job!
Honestly, I chose to do my internship at WAS because it was convenient. I travel to Washington every summer. My dad was the school’s program director for a while, and I did WAS’s yearly programs from the ages of three and a half to nine, I practically grew up in the WAS community, so my internship was a no-brainer.
My mentor situation was somewhat complicated. Sam Bowman is in charge of WAS’s summer camp volunteers, but he wasn't who I worked with day to day. At my day camp, I worked with an instructor named Nicole. At my ranger camp, I worked with Sienna. I often when to her and Connor, another instructor, for advice.
The day camp I worked at was at Tolt McDonald Park, a park that I grew up near and know well. Nicole and I worked with a group of eight-year-olds and got to teach them all about their surroundings. She taught me a lot and helped me accomplish many of my personal goals such as leading activities and learning about group dynamics. I was able to lead games, teach kids about plants, show them where to look for tracks, and even plan out what the group did on Thursday. One of the most important things I learned from her was to pay attention to the group’s energy. She often changed up the plan for the day or shifted to another activity if the energy was too high or too low, and I found that tactic to be helpful throughout my internship.
The ranger camp was exhilarating. During my day camp, I was exhausted most days, but that wasn't the case for the ranger camp. I worked from 9 a.m. on Sunday to 7 p.m. on Friday and was full of energy. When I was 12, I got to do this camp, and this summer, I was a volunteer. I got to guide these kids through the camp and all of the amazing experiences it offers.
My internship was full of incredible experiences and allowed me to learn and grow as a person. The most valuable thing I learned is that I want to go back to WAS. I love the school and all of their programs. I recently applied to be a summer camp instructor at WAS and was offered the job!