Bruce and Sara as National Park Rangers at
Cape Hatteras National Seashore

May 16, 2006


Being a Ranger: Meeting Peoplea and Answering Questions---May 16, 2006

After working as Park Rangers for just over a week, several impressions from our experiences at Ellis Island have been confirmed:


Or, using the words of Studs Turkle in his book Working ......being a Park Ranger has to be a "calling," and not just a "job."

Being a Park Ranger is like being a teacher or minister. You simply have to like people and want to work with them and serve them---or, you won't like your job, you'll become irritable and overly critical, and you'll start looking forward more to getting away from people more than to being with them. (And unfortunately, like many teachers and ministers, we've seen and known a few Rangers who now are burned out and just unhappy.)

Fortunately for us, we love what we are doing; and our only concern whether we can learn enough to be able to help the crowds when they come, and whether we eventually will be able to offer some interpretive programs that will make visitors glad they came to Cape Hatteras and to our particular programs!

5-16sarahat
Sara with her new hat!



Go to the next page..... A Lingering Controversy and Hope for a Resolution!

Return to opening page Bruce and Sara in Cape Hatteras


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