New Bedford, MA—Two local college students, Michael Young and Alexandria Allen, will join the staff of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park as park rangers this summer. Both of them will assist at the park visitor center, and introduce the park orientation movie, The City That Lit the World, which is shown at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. They will also help with special events and programs, such as Thursday evening concerts, monthly AHA! (Art, History, Architecture) arts and culture nights, and Summerfest, which will be held July 5-6.

Michael Young is a marketing major at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. From Dorchester, Massachusetts, he is a graduate of Boston Latin School. Mike is a member of the UMASS varsity basketball team and has coached basketball fundamentals and has served as a mentor to elementary school children. His experience with young people also includes serving as an instructor and coordinator for the University of Massachusetts Speech Academy, an after school program for eighth grade students in New Bedford. The program teaches oral and written communication skills through power point instruction, communication basics, visual arts and historical research.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park is a partner in the Speech Academy, but the park’s relationship with Michael Young began when he appeared as a whaleman in the park’s orientation movie, The City That Lit the World. Mike joined the crew of filmmakers from Northern Light Productions for location filming on the whaleship Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport. He also worked for Northern Lights Productions portraying the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar as a young man in a film shown at the Dunbar House in Ohio. You can catch Mike as a New Bedford whaleman on film every hour, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Whaling Museum theater.

Alexandria Allen is returning to the park for a second year. She is a theater arts major at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and came to the park last summer with a strong background in visitor services and retail operations, having spent a year and a half at the admissions desk of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. “Ale” brings experience and understanding of the importance of good customer service and has also served as a volunteer for a local community theater assisting the director with the children’s theater component. She has a great rapport with young people and works extremely well with the park’s 70 person volunteer staff.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Chief of Visitor Services, Jennifer Gonsalves, sums it up—“Michael and Ale are tremendous assets to our park staff. Both bring skills critical to the success of our summer programming. I know I will count on them daily to provide the best experience for the visiting public and to be a visible and friendly National Park Service presence during summer events and programs. We are pleased to welcome them as members of our crew.”

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996. One of 388 National Park Service areas, it is the only National Park Service site addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social and environmental history of the United States.

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New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park includes New Bedford’s 13-block waterfront historic district, Schooner Ernestina, the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum and several sites along the waterfront. The legislation establishing the park also established a connection between the National Park Service and the Iñupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska.

National Parks are special places set aside by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. For more information on New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park call (508) 996-4095 or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/nebe. Information on the entire National Park System is available on the worldwide web at Parknet, the official website of the National Park Service at www.nps.gov.

Michael Young as a New Bedford whaleman in The City That Lit the World pictured at left. Pictured at right is Alexandria “Ale” Allen. Both photos are by John K. Robson.

Prepared 06/06/03