EDGE Project: Newsletter
Helena Looser
Zurich, Switzerland
Strategic Communications
Leadership Engagement Center
Internship at Zion National Park
The past summer I woke up every morning to a beautiful landscape, surrounded by steep cliffs and amazing wildlife. I made coffee went outside and right next to me would be a deer grassing, enjoying the quietness of the morning. What I am describing here is not a summer vacation, but my usual morning during my internship at one of the most beautiful places in the world, Zion National Park. The job description said that I would be working as a visitor service intern, but in the end I had basically the same duties as an interpretive ranger. These duties consisted of working at the visitor center or museum desk, hiking trails and giving patio talks.
When I worked at the desk I had to answer common questions and sometimes really uncommon ones too. I also helped visitors to plan their trip especially when it was their first time at Zion. During the hikes I answered question, looked for people that felt uneasy, and picked up trash or removed graffiti. Last, but not least, with my patio talks I tried to teach a lesson about back packing and leave no trace behind. I ended making another patio talk which I tried to do more kid friendly, so I made a talk about lizards. I introduced them to three friends that live in Zion and made up a story about each of the three lizards.
I saw this internship advertised at the SUU internship fair and knew that this is what I would like to do for my EDGE project. It was the perfect combination of gaining leadership skills, gaining work experience in America, and having a great summer. I love the outdoors and I hiked almost all the trails in Zion before I even started working there, which, by the way, was a great benefit. And since the internship was operated through the school, I even had the chance to earn credits for it.
In January 2016 I knew I would like to do an internship as my EDGE project, and I started applying for internships in the middle of January. Throughout the semester I heard back from one company to schedule a phone interview, and on the day of the interview they didn’t answer and never got back to me. Other than that I hadn’t heard from anybody even though I sent out over 70 applications. By April I was so discouraged and I thought I would never find an internship. When I got the call from Zion that I had the internship, I was extremely happy and from then on I didn’t have any more problems during the project.
I would say that my EDGE project benefited Zion National Park. In my opinion I did a really good job as their intern and since they were quite short in staff, I took some weight off their shoulders. I also got to know the park extremely well, which will benefit my family when they visit me next May for my graduation. Through my in-depth knowledge, I will be able to show them places that hardly anybody knows.
The EDGE project helped me in several ways. First of all and most important, through the EDGE project I got work experience in America. For me it is really important to get that work experience since my dream is to get a job in America after graduation and hopefully get permanent residency. Not only did I gain more work experience, but it also opened my eyes that I could work in other settings than an office space with my communication degree. The internship showed me that I could be a tour guide or work as interpretive ranger in another national park. It definitely gave me something to think about, and I am excited for what the future brings.
I had an awesome and inspiring summer with my IIC Internship. I got to know so many great people and I could spend a lot of time in the great outdoors. And of course there were some times where it wasn’t too great, but every job has its pros and cons. However, the positive experiences during my internship far exceeded the negative experiences.