RSB, Grand Canyon 2025
It’s not unusual that travelling always gets my heart racing because of the pressure of limited time, the fear of making a flight, or the excitement of seeing family members. However, the Saturday morning of the trip felt a little different. It was more nerve-racking because I wasn’t simply going back home or visiting….I was preparing to explore somewhere new! My name is Alexis, and I am currently a senior biology major. One of the reasons that I decided to attend this alternative spring break is because I am currently participating in wildfire hazard and management research and I had hope that I would learn something from this experience. With this being said, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for just how much I learned. For those who are unaware, a Raider Service Break, often called RSB for short, is typically described as an alternative spring break for students who choose to participate. These breaks often include travelling to other cities or states in order to learn and provide service to others in need. This year, this RSB trip was made up of me, six other scholars, and five staff members. Together, we worked with the National Park Service at the Grand Canyon National Park in beautiful Arizona!
Although traveling between New Mexico and Arizona was incredible, the time zone changes and elevation increase were a rough adjustment for a while. Luckily, I bought supplemental oxygen, which proved to be extremely useful. While in the Park, we focused on wildfire management and worked with the Wildland Fire Department to maintain and ensure the upkeep of the surrounding forests. This issue is important because we were informed that fire season is coming soon, and by trimming and cleaning up these forests, responders will have an easier, quicker, and more efficient time with fire suppression efforts in the event a disaster breaks out.
Ironically, working with the Wildland Fire Department was the experience that positively impacted my life on this journey. During our volunteer time, the responders in the station tooktime to share their stories about how and why they each got into fighting wildland fire and how important their career fields are to each of them. Additionally, not every speaker was a wildland firefighter. There were a few crewmembers who were not involved with fire suppression at all, however, were still affiliated with the Wildland Fire Department. One example of this was a scientist who introduced herself as a fire ecologist. As she continued to speak, I began to realize that this field of study is extremely interesting to me. As soon as we returned to our rooms, I quickly began researching information needed to become a fire ecologist. Having previous firefighting and EMS experience under my belt, I always assumed that the only way to get involved with fire was to go through the academy which I completely did not want to do. But thanks to Allie, the fire ecologist, she opened up an entire door that I was completely unaware even existed.
(I really love this picture that our favorite “paparazzi” volunteer Max took of me because it perfectly captures how I felt in this moment down at the station: I was happy to be doing something constructive and important during my spring break by serving my community, and also I was extremely happy to be once again back inside a fire station.)
Now that the RSB trip is completed, I returned home with a newer perspective for how our Lubbock community could potentially become affected by wildfire hazards and I understood that I wanted to make a difference. While I realize that I can not scamper around all of Lubbock county clearing out dead trees and logs, I realized that I can still get involved by participating in my local American Red Cross organization here at Texas Tech so that I can still be ready and willing to help Lubbock citizens when emergencies do occur and prepare and prevent citizens for other many different disasters. In addition to this, academically I have decided to fully commit to going to graduate school for an emergency management and disaster science master’s and a fire science/crisis management Ph.D as well. Not only will these degrees allow me make a difference in the event of natural disasters and wildfires but also allow me to reenter the field I used to love.
I have personally titled this picture “A Trip to The Future” because I’d like to believe that I am looking at myself in the future working for the National Park Service as a fire ecologist or fire manager perhaps.
In the beginning of this experience, my mind was set on the statement that “we’re going to help some firefighters and that’s it” but this statement could not have been further from the truth. In the end, these responders are not “just firefighters,” they are the protectors of the National Park Service and defenders of the forests as well. Also, simply saying “and that’s it” was also far from true. In my journal, I wrote that five words I would use to describe this experience would be Teamwork, Reflective, Understanding, Supportive, and Transformative. I chose these five words because not only are they a perfect representation of what I felt on this trip, but also because each first letter in these words spells “TRUST” and this is exactly what I learned to do on this RSB. I had to learn to trust my community, the public servants that work in that community, my leaders and most importantly, I had to learn to trust myself. This experience turned out to be the most eye-opening, self-discovery journey that I have ever been on, and I am completely heartbroken that we had such a short time over there, however, all good things must come….to an end.
The Team! Everyone in this picture will forever have a special place in my heart, including Max behind the camera (who LOVES a good photo shoot) and The Band (not pictured made up of: Todd, Max, Deb and Joanne!)