Reflections on the Mississippi River Fellowship
The Mississippi River Fellowship is a 10-week, paid summer fellowship is a paid opportunity for diverse and underrepresented young adults ages 18-25 to explore the different branches of the National Park Service including Visitor Services, Interpretation, Education, Natural & Cultural Resource Management, and the Volunteer Program.
Fellows work directly with National Park Service Rangers, Mississippi Park Connection staff, and other park partners to facilitate educational programs, habitat restoration events, and wildlife monitoring on the Mississippi River. This year, Javi, Justine, and Zoe supported park programs and wrote reflections about their experiences at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Javi
“Even when it got hot and humid - or the wind would whip at us - I got an opportunity of a lifetime and it really shaped what I want to do in the future.”
Like the summer rains that come and go, or the summers for us Minnesotans everything will come to an end. The Mississippi River Fellowship program has allowed me to reconnect with my future life goals and changed my expectations in life in general.
I didn’t even know this program existed when I got an email from my older sister to apply for Mississippi Park Connection Fellowship. I live over half an hour from St. Paul and had no clue of any preserved nature areas around there besides some of the more well-known areas. To be able to explore these areas freely and with companions such as the other fellows, biotechs, National Park Rangers, and Mississippi Park Connection employees really added to my summer.
It’s hard to explain my position within the program. I always tell people “I get paid to learn about everything around and in the Mississippi River”. From subjects like history through a biological sense, or a more anthropogenic view such as Indigenous history to what people to today along the river. Other concepts like public programing and working with youth was a common occurrence in our fellowship, as well as shadowing people and learning what people worked on at our park.
Among the projects that we worked on, I really enjoyed field work and being outside. With one of my favorite jobs that I worked on was with Park Ranger Savanna and assisting her with bat and beaver surveys all along the National Park. Checking out bat boxes and collecting data, to putting up cameras in front of beaver lodges. I got to do everything on that trip whether I liked it or not. From recording information, canoeing, and hiking up a stream I got to live as a field scientist for a day, something I wouldn’t have done without this fellowship.
I never heard of any fellowship programs where I’m around. I’ve seen more places look for just interns and even myself have done an internship. I applied to this program knowing that I wanted to work outside and learn about the environment, but honestly, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. All I really know is that I loved every day of my position while working with the park. Even when it got hot and humid, or the wind would whip at us I got an opportunity of a lifetime and it really shaped what I want to do in the future.
Even with all the events I worked, all the knowledge I was given, and even with the aid of others I still feel like I have so much to learn. From a pure science and deep intellectual understanding of biology, to applying to jobs in the future, and the history of everything. I was able to learn just a few pieces here and there, it feels like I collected parts of a fossil that I still can’t put together. All I know is that I’ve got a cool bone or two and that hopefully I’ll complete it.
Zoe
“I loved talking to people and connecting the park to their stories.”
I am endlessly grateful for the opportunity I had this summer to experience the Mississippi River from a new perspective as a Mississippi Park Connection Fellow. This fellowship gave me the most incredible opportunity to work with rangers, researchers, and community members to help the river and the cities around it. The wide range of experiences and involvement in not only wildlife but community is what made this summer so special to me. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the fellowship, only knowing that I would be working in the different aspects of the National Parks, but this experience has greatly exceeded my expectations.
The fellowship gave me many opportunities to meet and work with different specialists in the National Park Service. Helping and learning about pollinators, bats, dragonflies, and beavers was not only incredibly enriching, but impacted my goals and ambitions regarding careers in National Parks. Having the time to shadow biologists in the field was eye-opening, and one of my favorite parts of the past summer.
Another aspect of the fellowship was working with schools and summer camps; something I’ve always loved, but combining it with educating about the outdoors was important to me, and I’m grateful to have had those kinds of experiences in this fellowship. On the other hand, the visitor centers and interacting with the public was a job I hadn’t been as interested in as the more physically hands-on jobs, but sharing knowledge and inviting people to learn about our park was much more rewarding and exciting than I thought it would be. I loved talking to people and connecting the park to their stories.
The broad expanse of work we did during my time with MPC has been incredible, as someone looking into the National Parks without much experience, but without the knowledge of what my future plans are. The opportunity to speak one-on-one with specialists in the parks and learn about their careers is another part of the fellowship I greatly appreciated.
One of the first events I participated in with MPC was a BIPOC paddling event. Being surrounded by other BIPOC people in a green space, where I don’t always feel like I belong, was an incredibly refreshing experience. Helping marginalized groups access the outdoors is one part of the fellowship I was really looking forward to, and didn’t disappoint. It’s hard to say how important feeling accepted in outdoor spaces is. Helping BIPOC communities start working outdoors and being able to access the wilderness is something I hope to work on more, and I’m glad I was able to learn about it more with MPC.
Looking back on the fellowship, I see a summer that flew by, filled with appreciation for the river. I’m so grateful for everything I’ve learned, and all of the amazing people I was able to meet.
Justine
“I hope to apply my knowledge from this fellowship to include not just from a scientific perspective but also to include a cultural viewpoint as I continue my studies.”
“Wait, so what is it that you do for your fellowship?” That was the most common question asked while working. Despite the question being straightforward, the response consists of many different answers ranging from canoeing with high schoolers to attending a BIPOC mushroom clinic. Unlike most fellowships, the Mississippi Park Connection’s summer fellowship didn’t have just one or two job descriptions. Instead, every week consisted of trying something new and meeting professionals in the field who are enthusiastic to talk about their work.
This is what interested me in applying for this program, along with my phenomenal past experience at Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) where I worked at the Environmental Stewardship Institute. In addition, I’m studying environmental engineering with a certificate in sustainability at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I hoped to gain more experience working in an environmental position since I have a passion to advocate for the earth and find solutions to alleviate our climate crisis.
Throughout this summer I’ve learned a lot about what it’s like to work in an environmental nonprofit and I can honestly say no two days are the same! Every day is different from being out in the field to learning about other organizations. Variety comes with new skill sets and the opportunity to apply your knowledge elsewhere. One memorable experience was learning about the cultural importance of cottonwood trees at Wakan Tipi (Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary) and translating that knowledge into a Spanish version during a canoe paddle with high schoolers along the Mississippi River when we passed a few cottonwoods.
Moreover, this fellowship provided the unique opportunity to work with other environmental organizations such as Wilderness Inquiry (WI), Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, FMR, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and more. It was a memorable experience to work with people that come from different organizations who are also interested in doing environmental work. In particular, canoeing with WI for high school trips was always fun because everyone was excited and ready to help get people onto the river. My first paddle with high schoolers was notable because the landing was extremely muddy and I got out with WI to help land the canoes. By the end of the day, I was washing chacos and step stools in the river next to a dead fish but was still content.
Additional events included BIPOC in the outdoors, habitat restorations, working at the visitor centers, mystery on the Mississippi, and many more. Each event was different and offered a new perspective on how I viewed the environment and/or the Mississippi River. Ultimately, I’ve gained more appreciation for the river and the people and ecosystem they support. So to answer the question “what is that you do for your fellowship?” I’d answer with: by working with exceptional people to learn and appreciate more about this environment. Furthermore, I hope to apply my knowledge from this fellowship to include not just from a scientific perspective but also to include a cultural viewpoint as I continue my studies.