|
|
Alumni Ambassadors Share Stories & Pictures Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park |
|
|
|
|
I was crying when I got on the plane. Yes, of course I wanted to go have great experiences, meet awesome people, and give something back to the community and to the Earth, but I never realized how hard it would be to actually leave. For the entire flight from White Plains, NY to El Paso, TX I was tormented with doubt and worry, the lump in my stomach growing larger and larger as I moved farther south. Looking back, I now see how much I had underestimated myself. Within ten minutes of getting off the plane, I met one of my crew leaders, who would soon become on of the single most influential people in my life. Kory Hottel looked completely different from how he sounded when he called my house a week earlier, but as he shook my hand and led me to where the other three were sitting I began to feel vastly more comfortable. Eventually, we piled into a rickety white van with no air-conditioning and drove out to meet the other crew leader, Heather Tangen, and the rest of our crew. The 10 of us spent the rest of the day in El Paso, and it was only later that night when I was lying in my sleeping bag that I realized how instantly I had clicked with these people. We were from all over the country, we were of different race and economic background, yet I already felt so at home. The days passed quickly; we spent the mornings working on the trail and had the rest of the day to explore the park or go swimming. My time in the Guadalupe Mountains changed my life forever. I discovered the peak of Bush Mountain to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth, I made friends that I will have for the rest of my life, and, most importantly, I learned some valuable things about myself. SCA has given me so much, and I am so proud to be a part of it. Thanks SCA!! |