Internship

My name is Jean Ferguson and I interned in the Outdoor Experience Department at Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council during the summer of 2019.  I have been a volunteer with GSSJC for over twelve years, and that experience actually created the passion I have in working with youth and connecting them with nature and the outdoors. That passion led me to Texas A&M University and the Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences department.

Prior experience with the program is certainly a plus but is not necessary.  The job requirements are to be over 18, have a valid Texas driver's license, high school diploma or GED, and be willing to take programmatic training as necessary.  In the Outdoor Experience Department, there is a certain amount of physical labor, lifting and carrying equipment around the Camp Closet, walking between buildings, and such. The position was a part-time position, so I did not receive any benefits.  I was paid $10/hour.

As an intern, I had a wide variety of tasks given to me.  My job could basically be defined as "Other duties as needed".  

• I was trained as a counselor for the Day Camp that was held at the main GSSJC campus.  I did not serve as a counselor, but I was available as a backup in case they needed me.  I did serve as a backup first aider several times, including during a field trip to Fun Plex.  I also did programming for the girls at Day Camp, building fires and discussing fire safety while they made S'Mores.  One of my favorite Day Camp moments was when the Snake Lady came during Animals week.  She brought several snakes for the girls to interact with, and I got to be adult supervision.

• Another major project I was given was our Council's part fo the national "Girl Scouts Love State Park" event.  I coordinated five different state parks in the GSSJC area, which held activities for Girl Scouts during the weekend of July 13-14.  I was involved in every aspect, including helping to monitor the social media feed regarding the event to answer questions, identifying the best parks to work with, handling all of the communication with the parks, and creating the language used for registration and marketing descriptions to send out to troops and the Council at large.  I also actually visited one of the event sites, Village Creek State Park to meet with the local Ranger, and see what the response was.

• A much less glamorous, but far more necessary, task I was given was to inventory the Camp "Closet".  This is the room where all the outdoor department gear is stored, from tents to magnifying glasses to scuba gear.  Inventory should be done at least once a year, however, it had not been done in quite some time.  I built a spreadsheet almost from scratch and tried to keep the numbers accurate as items came in and out.  I also had to inventory patches from summer camps past.  It was fascinating to see the old patches, but I desperately wanted to do something with them other than count them and throw them in a box. 

If you are interested in a meaningful job with a touch of adventure, I highly recommend Girl Scouts, especially Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council.  To see their current list of available positions, visit their Careers Page.