NPS Photo/Matt Turner
NEW
Take a look at the new National Park Service Conservation Diaries podcast series that showcases the voice of the youth of the National Park Service as they share their passion and commitment to conservation of America's natural and cultural treasures. Listen as interns, volunteers, fellows, or employees across the National Park Service share their perspectives on conservation and why it is important for youth to be involved in the stewardship of their public lands.
Five Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP) interns from 2021 are featured, so read their articles and accompanying podcast episdes:
- Hillary Morales Robles (Heritage Documentation Programs)
- Cristóbal López (San Antonio Missions National Historical Park)
- Alisa Hernandez (Cabrillo National Monument)
- Manuel Santos (New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park)
- Ramona Malczynski (National Trails Office)
Veteran Interns Spotlight
The National Park Service (NPS) has been providing recent military veterans, 35-years-old and younger, career developmental opportunities through internships, fellowships, and apprenticeships to help incorporate veterans into the civilian workforce. The Service has a strong record of employing individuals, and their spouses, who have served in the military. Learn more about jobs and internships opportunities for young adults and recent military veterans at Work With Us.
Meet four veterans who participated in the 2019 Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP). The LHIP reach out and connect with Latino college students from diverse backgrounds that have little or no access to their national parks, to invite them to serve in challenging educational, job-training, career exploration and developmental opportunities through internships with the National Park Service (NPS). Program participants develop marketable career skills that could led to career pathways with the NPS. To learn more about the Latino Heritage Internship Program click here.
- William Marcos González, U.S. Coast Guard, Virginia and Georgia - Honorable Discharge 2018. Marcos currently attends the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he is earning his master's degree in Landscape Architecture. As Resource Management Assistant at Minute Man National Historic Park, his expertise is focused on developing the park's Cultural Landscape Report and updating the Agricultural Management Plan.
- Ángel López, U.S. Navy, Local Area Network Administrator (Submarines), Culinary Specialist (Submarines), Virginia - Honorable Discharge 2013. Angel is a Geographical Information Science major at the University of Maryland. He also serves as a Peer Advisor for Veteran Education at the university. During his internship at El Malpais and El Morro National Monuments, New Mexico, he worked with cavers and scientists to develop maps of bat habitat.
- David Riera, U.S. Marine, Mission Continues Service Leadership Corp Members, Florida - Honorable Discharge 2019. David is a doctoral student at Florida International University in the College of Education. He is passionate about STEM education. His internship at Everglades National Park, FL, was focused on helping with the restoration of habitats within the park.
- Ismael Uribe, U.S. Army, Food Services Specialist, Fort Drum, New York - Honorable Discharge 2009. Ismael (far right), served in the U.S. Army for more than four years and now studies history with a concentration in archives at California State University where he has gained hands-on experience examining and cataloging artifacts from the 1800s at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site.
To learn more about other Veterans participating in National Park Service Youth Programs visit Support Veterans
Youth Programs Interns
Kayla Diallo, Senior at North Carolina A&T State University, Historically Black Colleges and Universities Internship Program (HBCUI)
Kayla has served as an intern with the National Park Service (NPS) as a participant in the for the past two years during the summer in the NPS Office of Communications conducting interviews with various NPS stakeholders and partners, assisting with the development of monthly communication themes/topics for the NPS, and as a co-producer for a premiere NPS Visual Film. Kayla is the 2019 HBCUI Digital Media Maven award recipient for her media journal highlighting her internship experience.
Stephanie Pomales, Facebook Communications Extern, Latino Heritage Internship Program 2019
Hi! My name is Stephanie Pomales and I am a recent high honors graduate from the University of California, Davis, where I majored in Communications and minored in Global & International Studies. During my time at UC Davis, I was placed on the Dean's Honors List three times and won more than $45,000 in scholarships from organizations like The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and The Alliance For Women In Media. I was also chosen for the selective Mentorship in Agriculture, Letters & Sciences program were I was able to develop my honors thesis on student mental health.
My summer at the National Park Service has given me some amazing opportunities! I was given the responsibility of creating the official National Park Service communications for Latino Conservation Week. It was a challenge, but I’ve never felt so accomplished. I helped to renovate the NPS Latino Conservation Week website, wrote a communications and guidance plans for all of the national parks, and even wrote articles for both the external and internal website. My favorite project was developing posts for the National Park Service social media accounts, which will continue to be updated throughout Latino Conservation Week.
I also had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of debriefing NPS’ Acting Deputy Director, David Vela, about my Latino Conservation Week projects. He was very interested in learning how the National Park Service is reaching out to the Latino community and loved the work that I completed! Student Profile
Hello! My name is Ridasian Moore, I am a Howard University alumnus with a Bachelor’s in Communications interning in the National Park Service Youth Programs Division. Since I began my internship with the NPS I have gained insurmountable exposure to national programs such as Girl Scout Ranger and HBCUI while learning more about federal regulations and guidelines as it pertains to digital media. I have had the opportunity to design and curate content for social media, leading to growing our audience base on Facebook by over 1000 people. In addition to my digital communications work, I have had the chance to network with NPS partners while attending the annual ASLAH luncheon and the Corps Network conference.
My proudest accomplishment thus far, is meeting with the Acting Director, David Vela and Assistant Director Dan Smith to pitch the concept of a video I co-developed and co-produced in honor of the 400 Year Commemoration of African American History since 1619. The short film, entitled Twenty & Odd, will serve as an evergreen visual tool to inform, highlight and educate the nation as a whole on the trauma, resilience and beauty of the African American experience in our country. This digital experience will be the first of its kind within the National Park Service and aims to ultimately bridge the gap between NPS and the community by inspiring a sense of belonging to our nation's most treasured sites.
I am ecstatic to be apart of making history within this agency and grateful for the support of the National Park Service to expound their mission of connecting new and underserved audiences to NPS sites. Ultimately, I appreciate the opportunity to showcase my creativity on a national platform as I seek new ways to capture the attention of the NPS Youth Programs audience and educate the digital community on the amazing work youth just like myself are doing to support and preserve our public lands.
Last updated: January 15, 2022