RSB, Grand Canyon 2024
Last spring of 2024 I and other RSBers went to the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona for an alternative spring break; our main objective was to learn as well as contribute to the National Park by offering volunteering services. As an alternative spring break, we used this time to learn about many different things in career, life, personal, and the communities we are a part of. We got to learn and see firsthand the impact giving back to the community or to the world can make the world a better happier world. We explore alternative uses for our careers, especially in the Natural Parks services. Our time there gave me an alternative view of the natural world around me. And overall, many people's lives were impacted in the process.
This Trip was very important to us as students as it helped us learn more about how
the national parks services, opportunities available, and we got to impact about 2000+
people on their time at the park. On our mission we worked with a Ranger, Todd. Todd
was a great host and he helped us learn about the national Parks services and the
opportunities available nationwide. Todd had a group with him that were with us the
whole week helping and facilitating our volunteering experience. The group had Debbie
and Joanne who prepared the spaces that we stayed in as well as spent each day guiding
and facilitating our experience. We also had Max who was our personal paparazzi, max
was very cool and interesting and had had a lot of experiences with the national park.
Besides providing us knowledge, the trip also gave us the opportunity to give back
by giving us the chance to help others with their Grand Canyon experience. 
This experience was filled with many impactful moments both on me and on the community that was involved. Throughout this experience, I got to grow my communication and interpersonal skills by interacting with people from across the globe. I can name a few experiences that I believe stood out to me and had a positive impact overall, but one was around meeting a stranger. On Wednesday, we had the chance to explore and see the amazing wonders that the canyon had to offer. This day was particularly special to me because I got to see the world in a new light. On my hike back up from when I went down to hike the canyon, I met a man who to some degree shifted my outlook on life. My values, goals, and sources of happiness were forever shifted by bonding with a stranger that I shared the same goal with. The goal of hiking back up to the top after underestimating the canyon. One thing that most people shared with me is that the canyon truly highlights how there is a lot more to the world than just our jobs and careers. The stranger opened to me on his purpose of visiting the canyon and overall highlighted the different goals and comforts that many find in the canyon. Some people came to grow in their faith, spirituality, and many other reasons that they believed the canyon was going to help them in their respective goals.
Overall, I met several people from different states and countries from Germany all the way to South Korea all with a goal to see this amazing wonder of the world. I met people of all ages from young toddlers to people that are in the later stages of their lives. One thing that stood out to me for all the days that I spent in the park is that no matter where a person came from, what age they are, or what their background may be, they all had almost the same rhythm in excitement. All had an indescribable amount of joy and excitement when they were at the park. It was amazing being a part of the global whole and feeling more excited each day than the last when I saw the canyon.
I plan on being more aware of what goes on around me to know how to best contribute to our world. On this trip I learned that there was a lot more to the world than just Texas tech, my degree and whichever path I may choose in life. I learned that you could work in technology in parks services and see the changes you work on be applied immediately. The group I journeyed with to the Grand Canyon also helped me be more relaxed and learn how to live in the moment, one factor I tend to ignore in my daily life. The reservation of the park truly changed me, and I wish more places like this existed, where nature thrives remaining untouched by men. I plan to learn how I can use my degree to help preserve nature so that many others may share my experience in spaces like the Grand Canyon.
