In the summer of 2024, I was lucky enough for the opportunity to go on the Denali Field Camp trip. My favorite teacher came up to me and said she would love to sponsor me and it sounded like a dream. As I got on the bus I had no idea that this trip would be so special to me. Over the next week, I would see how connected me, a group of strangers, and the park rangers were with the public lands.
I’ve never been someone with a clear vision of my future – the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” plagued me time and time again. But this trip helped me find a focus. One day, we went out to collect data on arctic hares, and as I was talking to the park ranger on the walk there, I was in awe of how passionate she was. Learning how all the systems of the Earth are connected, and how us as people could be part of that, made me feel so lucky. I wanted to feel that too! I wanted to connect with the lands and protect them even more.
After that summer, I’ve been doing everything I can to stay connected to public lands! The next school year an environmental science class was on the schedule and I immediately enrolled. The following March I went up to UAF to visit their Natural Resources and Environment department, and this summer I interned at the Anchorage Museum, creating an activity for visitors to interact with the soundscapes of public lands. So needless to say, my week at Denali Field Camp has changed so much about me, and I’m so excited to continue this journey.