Hey ya’ll! My name is Kelsey and I am an Environmental Educator / Interpretive Ranger living here at Bear Brook State Park. I have always considered the great outdoors my second home and have been extremely lucky to turn this great passion into several wonderful service opportunities. While working towards my degree in History from Middle Tennessee State University (that OTHER big school in Tennessee) my interest in working in a park setting began by working a seasonal campground position at a near by state park. After graduation, I took a brief hiatus from the day to day grind to spend a year near the ocean in sunny south Florida, doing the server thing and relaxing by the beach. Deciding that a year off was probably enough, I made the most important decision in my life thus far and packed up my belongings into two suitcases, moved West, and joined the Montana Conservation Corps. Montana, as cheesy as it sounds, is where I truly found myself. I learned so much about environmental stewardship, compassion for service, and how to just be me in this great big world. I caught the bug, and after my term ended I began actively searching for my next big opportunity. Luckily, I found the SCA and the New Hampshire Conservation Corps and I currently find myself in the midst of the most loving and supportive community on the face of the Earth (and it sure doesn’t hurt that I get to live in a log cabin in the middle of the woods). I have so much to look forward to and cannot wait to get started teaching the local children of Manchester and creating interpretive programming for New Hampshire State Parks. As AmeriCorps likes to say, I feel like I am “getting things done!” and that is a pretty darn good feeling.
