A New Experience - RSB Grand Canyon 2019

For spring break this year, I decided to go on a Raider Service Break instead of going home. At first, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into; I just thought it would be fun to spend a week at the Grand Canyon. We worked at the Grand Canyon with Todd Nelson, who is the park’s volunteer resource program coordinator, and Rachele Funk, the volunteer ambassador.

The issue we focused on was interpretation, meaning we helped with guest services answering questions and pointing visitors in the right direction. Every day we worked in pairs at different locations on the South Rim near the Visitors Center and Mather Point. We answered any questions visitors had; mostly consisting of “where is the bathroom?” and “where can I see the canyon?”. Additionally, we rotated about every hour so that we could see each location. Although guest services and interpretation are not the first thing I think of when I think about volunteering at a national park, it is still very important. Since people could ask us questions, that meant that they didn’t have to stand in line at the ranger desk in the Visitors Center.

On our first day, Rachele gave us counters so that we could count the number of visitors we helped that day. The first day we counted groups, but from then we counted individuals. By the end of the week, we had interacted with over 11,000 people. That means those individuals did not have to stand in the line at the visitor’s center, which can sometimes have a wait time of up to 45 minutes. In addition to helping visitors find what they were looking for, I enjoyed interacting with people from all around the country and even the world. The majority of visitors were very friendly, and it was fun to talk to people from different backgrounds.

I think every interaction I had with visitors had a positive impact on the community as I was helping them get to where they wanted to go, but there is one experience that stood out from the rest. On our first day of service, my partner and I were walking back to our station after lunch when we were stopped by a man and a woman. The man said he hurt his knee at the Mather Point overlook and that he needed to go somewhere he could get his knee looked at. We called Rachele on the radio and when she got there, she called an ambulance for the man. My partner and I didn’t play a huge role in helping this man, but he was still very grateful to us for being there at the right time and place when he needed us.

Now that were back home, one action that I and the other students that went on this Raider Service Break plan to take is the establishment of a Student Organization here on campus. The organization would be for Raider Service Breaks and it would help us grow as a program on campus. I think the problem right now is that not enough people know about Raider Service Breaks, so if a student organization was created then the service trips could be advertised more effectively, and more students would participate. Additionally, a Raider Service Break organization would allow students to be more involved in planning and leading service trips.

While on this trip, I learned so much more than I expected to. I didn’t realize how much education about the Grand Canyon we would be getting, and that was a great complement to the service work we were doing. After listening to the presentation about wildlife research at the Grand Canyon, I was able to answer so many questions visitors had about the animals that lived in the park. I learned about the movement pattern research being conducted on elk, which was convenient since I was asked why some of the elk were wearing collars several times. It was also really interesting to learn about the different diseases each kind of animal struggles with and how the park is trying to prevent them. We also learned about the buffalo in the park and how they were not native to the area but were instead released into the park relatively recently.

Another educational component I really enjoyed was the collection museum tour. The docent, Colleen, was very informative and clearly knew a lot about the animals and artifacts found in the canyon. She showed us the skull, skin, and hair of the long extinct giant sloth and taxidermized examples of animals that either live or used to live in the canyon. She also showed us pots, bowls, and tools that had been found in the canyon that were made by the Native American tribes that lived there hundreds to thousands of years ago. She also showed us the split twig animal figurines Native American used to make and how they would spear them, hoping to bring good luck for their upcoming hunts. It was amazing to hear the stories Colleen told and imagine how the Native Americans lived.

One of my favorite things about this Raider Service Break were the friends I made on the trip. We had so much fun getting to know each other, eating meals together, and playing games. When I left for the Grand Canyon, I didn’t know anyone, but I came back with some pretty great friends.

I would encourage anyone to go on a Raider Service Break instead of going home or elsewhere for spring break. In addition to serving others, you get the opportunity to see new places and learn new things. I had never been to the Grand Canyon before, and it was amazing to see it in person for the first time. I think this was a great opportunity to expand my education outside of the classroom and see a natural wonder of the world that I had never seen before, while also serving the community.

-Emily Franko