Maddy describes her experience as an RMP student and her excitement about her amazing summer internship with the Forest Service.
Maddy: I always wanted to work in a federal land position. The Park Service, Forest Service have kind of been the big ones that have been floating around. Recreation Management and Policy offers education in how to manage a park, how to manage a forest in a way that other programs might not. I like how accessible the professors are; I can always talk to them, email them, talk to them after class, drop by, say 'hi'. They always have great advice and the classes are also super fun and interesting and the people that are in the major are pretty committed to it.
This internship was really, really important for me to get because it is part of the public land corp certification program, and that certification will get me non-competitive hiring status so that will enable me to apply for permanent positions that would otherwise not be open.
The research we're doing is super interesting. We're looking at how people perceive their wilderness experiences as positive or negative, and we're going to use that data to hopefully improve wilderness experiences and put it into part of a plan with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service. The goal of this is to see how people are perceiving overcrowding and then also to figure out what we as land managers can do.
Ultimately, I hope I have a positive impact. There's no like telling what the future will hold but I hope to work my way up and help visitors have like great experiences every day.
