A Nature Lover's Career-A Decades Long Journey!
Part 1
Reflecting back on the past 30 years I’ve dedicated myself to a career in great outdoors, I want to share the journey that has gotten me to the place I’m at today, as the Land Manager of BaseCamp USA. The career path that I chose can be attributed to the experiences I had as a child growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s. My hometown of Mendota, Illinois wasn’t considered an outdoor lovers paradise. It was surrounded by huge farm fields in all directions as far as the eye could see. Here were some of the most fertile soils in the world that grew some of the finest corn, soybeans and alfalfa hay crops anywhere.
The farming community there was strong and my family was good friends with several local farm families, some of whom I was able to work for as a young teenager doing farm chores (i.e. baling hay and walking beans). It was a great area to grow up in but it left a lot to desire if you loved the beauty of lakes, forests, and hills. Fortunately for me and my 2 brothers, Mom and Dad loved to explore and camp in destinations, both near and far, that had those natural landscapes that we lacked. Together with my family, we spent many weekends including week long trips each summer and fall camping at those places.
We’d load the family station wagon with all our gear, strap our 16 foot canoe to the roof, attach our bikes to the back of the camper, and away we went. We journeyed all over the vast, diverse landscapes of the upper Midwest, from the farm field flatlands of Illinois and Indiana to the gorgeous shore of all the Great Lakes to the rugged bluffs along the Mississippi to the vastly forested magnificence of Wisconsin’s Northwoods. We camped, we hiked, we canoed, we fished, we swam, and we biked.
Those family camping adventures instilled in me at a young age a passion and love for the outdoors & our natural world and there was nothing more enjoyable. Over the years, Mom and Dad took us on literally dozens of memorable trips. However, the one trip that stands out and truly cemented my desire to pursue a conservation/natural resources career was an epic family camping vacation to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 1983, right before my freshman year of high school.
I was mesmerized by the beautiful mountains, their snowcapped peaks, and the richness and diversity of the landscapes and wildlife. It was during this trip when I met NPS Park Rangers for the 1st time and learned that these people were college grads and this was their paid profession. As a 14 year old kid, who knew? The lightbulb went on and the seed was planted. I soon discovered that the outdoor career field had a lot of diverse opportunities other than just being a Park Ranger. I was hooked!
After graduating from high school I spent my first 2 years of college, living at home, working part time, and attending a local junior college (Illinois Valley Community College). Those 2 years allowed me to get a taste of the college experience. It also allowed me the time to gain maturity and perspective, and prepare for the next big change in my life.
I would be moving away from my home and family to a 4 year university where I would pursue my Bachelor of Science Degree. For those 2 years at IVCC, I studied and worked diligently to earn good grades in all my classes. All my academic efforts paid off when I was blessed to be accepted by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) in their Forestry Program. The CNR (College of Natural Resources) program at UWSP offered several different natural resource career focus areas including Forestry, Wildlife Management, Water Resources, and Soil Science. I chose the Forestry program with an emphasis in outdoor recreation, thinking this degree would give me the best change to land a job out West, anywhere in or near Yellowstone National Park.
I spent 3 wonderful, albeit, challenging years at UWSP pursuing my college degree, culminating in graduation in May of 1992. Those 3 years, being away from home, living in a tiny college dorm room weren’t easy but were by far the most significant to my growth and development (i.e. socially, academically, spiritually, etc.) as a young adult.
My first summer, fresh out of college as a 22 year old man, ready to take on the world, I landed a job with Portage County Parks, based out of Stevens Point, WI. It was a seasonal, entry level position as an Assistant Park Manager. Starting wage was quite meager but making a lot of money wasn’t why I chose the outdoor career field. That summer of 92 was the first big opportunity I had with my degree and I embraced it and thrived.
During the summer and fall, I helped manage 2 public campgrounds with adjacent parks, swimming beaches, hiking trails, picnic areas, and a nature center. Portage Co. Parks owned dozens of public access properties including a park offering mountain biking, cross country skiing, and down hill skiing. So, during the winter, I transferred over to that park where I worked and learned how to run a ski rental shop, operate the ski hill tow ropes, groom ski trails, and even prepare and sell food at a snack bar. It was hard work that wasn’t all glamorous (I.E. cleaning public bathrooms, picking up trash, sweeping floors, dealing with drunken and sometimes belligerent park users, etc.) but it was the beginning of my career and it led to the path on my career journey!
Be sure to come back for parts II through IV!
Submitted by: Scott Rebholz (Land Manager at BCU)
