Tasha A. - NYC Parks Department

Name: Tasha A.
Major: Environmental Studies
Class: Senior
Internship Title: Urban Park Ranger
Internship Site: NYC Parks Department

What was your role?
My role as an urban park ranger was to act as an ambassador for the parks system. This meant knowing the history of the park I was stationed in, the local laws, ecology, and upcoming events. I was stationed at a nature center which my partner and I maintained the exhibits, took care of the animals on exhibit, and gave nature tours at regularly scheduled times. When not at the nature center, my partner and I patrolled the park.

What was the most rewarding aspect of your internship/research experience?
The best portion of my job was educating visitors about their local environment. Many park patrons have visited their local parks without knowing the local history of it. It was also great being a type of educator to kids who were excited to be outdoors and were fascinated by the little things, such as sea glass and hermit crabs.

What is/was one example of a challenge you faced? Why?
One of the challenges working within a city department is the bureaucracy. Jurisdiction of certain responsibilities can overlap between departments, leading to confusion as to who has to do what. Employers can give conflicting orders and there are usually difficulties when one overrules another.

How has this experience affected your future plan?
Working for the parks department has given me appreciation for working in public service and how many people take full advantage. Giving tours last year made me interested in taking an educational role in environmental studies. Also, despite the amount of bureaucracy, I still may want to work for the parks department, although maybe not the law enforcing division.

Did you utilize any of the skills you learned from your classes for this experience?
Public speaking is a key component of the job, so any class in which I was required to give a presentation helped me for this job. Also, because I gave nature tours, any environmental class I took became valuable to me.

What else did you learn? Additional comments?
The NYC parks department website has a lot of internship position for the summer, although many of them are unpaid. They also allow you to upload your resume onto their website.