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GSMNP Summer Internship Program provides learning opportunities for high school students

July 14, 2015

examining Dragonfly larvae

by Kyra Mehaffey
Rising Senior
Pisgah High School – Canton, North Carolina

Kyra Mehaffey
Kyra Mehaffey

High school students scrambled to get their applications finished and in the mail last March for a chance to be chosen for the Summer Internship with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Reasons for applying vary with every person. I applied to see what work is like as a ranger and if I would enjoy being a ranger as a career.

Students apply to gain knowledge, experience, and to grow as a person.

Selection process for internship program

The whole process started in February when my science teacher informed my class that a GSMNP ranger would come later in the week and make a PowerPoint presentation about the Summer Internship Program. I was eager to see what it was all about.

The ranger who is the lead in the internship program is Carlin Fenn. Ranger Carlin visited my school, Pisgah High School, along with about 18 other high schools in the area. She gave all who were interested an application, inquiring about our outdoor experience and our interest in science.

North Carolina Summer Interns with rangers
The North Carolina high school interns during their first week with (from left) Dep. Sup. Clay Jordan, Ranger Carlin Fenn, Ranger April Byrge, Teacher in the Park Taylor Zimmerman, Ranger Susan Sachs (kneeling) and Sup. Cassius Cash (on far right).

After the applications were reviewed, emails were sent out and phone interview times were scheduled. The day of my interview, I was glued to the phone in case Ranger Carlin called early.

During the interview, I did my best to impress as Ranger Carlin got to know me better. She asked about my extracurricular activities, hobbies and other interests. She contacted the references I gave in the application to see what impressions I had made on these people.

Finally, the hiring decisions were made, and I got a very exciting phone call offering me a position! Ranger Carlin didn’t even get to finish her sentence before I had accepted!

Orientation for the new interns

Sup. Cash and Dep. Sup. Jordan talk with NC interns
During the first-day orientation, Dep. Sup. Clay Jordan (right) and Sup. Cassius Clay talk with the high school interns.

On June 16, bright-eyed interns sat together, eager to make friends and memories that would assist them in the future.

That first meeting was when we met GSMNP Superintendent Cassius Cash. He was a very passionate speaker and told us of his being involved in Civil Rights. He was very inspiring, and it was a great way to start off our internship. He should be coming back to see us at the end of our internship, and he wanted us to write in our journals: “What would I tell Superintendent Cash about today and how have I grown?”

Our internship with the park is partnered with American Conservation Experience (ACE). If you see any of us in maroon colored shirts or hats, come say hello! The internship lasts until July 23, giving us six weeks to expand our horizons. We’re starting our fifth week, and I never thought it would go by so fast!

Internship activities

examining Dragonfly larvae
Bella Weeks (left) and Kyra Mehaffey examine nets of sediment from the river looking for Dragonfly larvae. Photo by Carlin Fenn

Each week we work with a different department of the NPS, from vegetation crew to wildlife management. We meet in the mornings at the old Visitor Center at Oconaluftee, the Cherokee entrance to the park. After going over the plan for the day, we load up and head out. Nearly every day we meet someone new, and we get everything we can out of each new experience. A lot of questions are asked and opportunities, such as blogging with the FOTS, are snatched up.

Lunchtime is spent getting to know one another better and reaching into our early childhood with games like “Duck Duck Goose.” We usually work from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We end our days back at Oconaluftee, reflecting in our journals about the day and going over the agenda for the next day.

My first journal entry reads: “My main goal is to learn all I can from this internship and apply it to my everyday life and spread my new-found knowledge with others.”

Each of my coworkers brings something unique to the table and is an honor to have met and learn from them during our time together.

***

This is the first in a series of blog posts by high school students participating in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Summer Internship Program. This summer, 24 students are participating, representing high schools in North Carolina and Tennessee that are near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The program is funded by both the Youth Partnership Program and Friends of the Smokies. FOTS has supported the program for 15 years, initially providing the salaries for the interns and now funding the program staff salaries.

The program is designed to give the interns a little taste of a variety of activities that rangers are involved with – from fisheries science to botany to forest and stream ecology. The interns gain an understanding of how the park is managed and are introduced to possible career opportunities.

support

To support Parks As Classrooms and the high school intern program, click here.

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