A Grand Beginning to the New Year: Celebrate 2012 with a recap of Grand Teton's best features in our promotional video  

Valentine's Day is Just Around the Corner! Honor someone special with a bear box in Grand Teton 

The NPS Academy: A New Take on Career Preparation: GTNPF youth program appeals to college students near and far 

Wildlife Whereabouts: Current activities of Grand Teton's intriguing inhabitants

Winter Activity Alert: Guided Snowshoeing in the park 

Applications Due in March: 2012 Youth Conservation Program 

In the Spotlight: Maverik Convenience Stores 

Discover Grand Teton Online: A dynamic, new website focused on Grand Teton   

For a number of last year's National Park Service (NPS) Academy students, spring break in Grand Teton represented an experience far beyond the bounds of typical. Many were unaccustomed to snow and had never spent significant time in a national park before. For those students, the opportunity to spend spring break in a career preparation program--amid the snow-shrouded, towering Tetons--was accompanied by the exciting challenge of participating in new activities and exploring an unfamiliar place.     

Yet for program participant Eric Sheue, a Jackson native who could hardly have been more in his element that week, the NPS Academy encompassed an entirely different array of learning experiences.  In describing some of the week's activities, Sheue, who is visually impaired, recalls staying at the back of the group for the duration of a day hike in order to assist some of the students who had less experience on snowshoes.  For Sheue, the week delivered opportunities for personal growth in the form of leadership skills and an ever-growing passion for the area's national park.

Building on a familiarity with the park that dates back to school field trips, volunteer stints at the visitor center in Moose, and regular visits with family and friends over the years, Sheue jumped at the opportunity to participate in the NPS Academy, a Foundation-funded program for diverse college students that launched in Grand Teton in 2011.  The NPS Academy is part of the Department of the Interior's broad outreach effort to help parks prepare the next generation of natural resource professionals that mirrors the diversity of the United States.   

Sheue and the rest of the Academy students spent a week in Grand Teton in March 2011, quickly becoming a tightly knit group while working and learning in the park with staff members from the Teton Science Schools. Each student was also connected to a national park staff member as a formal mentor, which exposed students to the inner workings of parks and the variety of career fields that operate within the system.  

"It gave us an idea of what is available in the NPS and how broad the spectrum really is," says Sheue.  "Back at school, we all got calls or emails from someone at the NPS about internship positions that matched our interests and skills. They were offering us jobs for the summer."

Although NPS Academy students were placed in a variety of positions at national parks across the country, Sheue chose to sign on with the project management team here in Grand Teton for the summer.

"I love learning about my home," he explains.  "Not everyone gets to live in an environment like this."

Sheue was involved in a number of interesting projects last summer, including parking management research and accessibility evaluation, but it was not until he gave his first interpretation presentation to a group of middle and high school kids that he recognized his niche within the NPS.

"I was talking to the kids and they were actually understanding and listening to me. I realized that it's always been a passion of mine to educate visitors about this park that I love."

Currently back in school at Utah State, where he is pursuing a degree in Recreation Resource Management, Sheue hopes to return to the park next year as an Academy peer mentor, though the position is highly competitive due to popularity. He stays up-to-date with his Academy group via Facebook and keeps in regular touch with his mentor at Grand Teton, who continues to share ideas and methods for achieving a career in interpretation with the NPS.  

Eric Sheue hardly needed confirmation of his passion for the National Park Service, but as he prepares to make the transition from classroom to career path, his summer with the Academy and resulting professional relationships will undoubtedly serve him well.  

Best of luck in your future endeavors, Eric!  Thanks for sharing your NPS Academy story!

The NPS Academy 2011

The program returns in March 2012 to connect a new group of students to an invaluable education.  For more information on how to support the NPS Academy and other Foundation-funded youth programs, contact Leslie Mattson, or click the link below!