This past summer, three Park Academy high school students participated in the Northwest Youth Service Corp. Each of them was sent to various locations along the Pacific Northwest to help remove invasive species, build trails and remove undergrowth/brush. This is HARD work. Their time in the woods ranged from 4-6 weeks with 8-12 youth from all over the Northwest. This wasn’t a “glamping” or summer camp experience, it was hiking with heavy tools and gear, all of your supplies to live on, AND daily demanding tasks to complete. Our three students: Ben, Soren, and Charles all agree – it was a great experience and two of the three are eager to do it again!
Ben, a senior, worked for four weeks in upper Washington. He thought it was a good summer job. He learned a lot and used his earnings to purchase some technology he wanted. He isn’t eager to do it again but is very glad he had the experience.
Charles, an 11th grader, did five weeks in southern Oregon, northern California and even found himself in Nevada. He had an amazing summer and made many new friends. He got lost once but found his way back to his team AND while he never got poison oak, he found himself to be a magnet. If there was a patch of poison oak in the area, he would find it! He loved the hard work saying he got to use a bunch of new tools and acquired new skills. He too used his earnings to make some technological purchases he had on his wish list.
Lastly, Soren, an 11th grader went for six weeks all throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. He, like Charles, really appreciated the opportunity to make new friends and learn new skills. He also liked that he got to learn to cook. It was imaginative cooking. Basically, nonperishable food stuff and you got to decide what to do. He says it was a lot of noodles, but fun to figure out a tasty way to make them. After all of that hard work, Soren decided to save his earnings for the future. We admire that maturity!
We are pleased to welcome Nate Zantzinger of the Northwest Youth Services Corps to Park Academy next month, Monday, January 27, 2020. Look for more information to visit with him and learn more.