A Mover and a Shaker
Has your dream ever been to be a teacher to a class full of fourth-graders? For Ranger Jason, he wants nothing else then to be able to teach the youth about glaciers and animals that live there. “I have a life long dream and that is to share with other people what I know and love. I was thinking about maybe one day teaching college classes but I want to work with kids, not stressed-out college students,” Jason said.
Jason is a seasonal park ranger at Portage Glacier, only working for six months at a time. “The number of glaciers we have in this National Forest is the second largest in the nation. We have one-third the number of all the glaciers in Alaska,” Jason said.
Jason has worked many places over the country. He worked at the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Park for eight years. “ The blast of 1980 wiped the slate clean as far as plant and animal life, so we got to see those communities return,” Jason said. He has also worked as an oceanographer, as a research specialist at the Department of Conservation in New Zealand, and a ski instructor. He has his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and Education and will be going back this summer for his Master’s Degree.
Jason is also very into going backpacking and just being outdoors. He has hiked in New Zealand, though the mountains in Washington, and many other places throughout the United States. “ Variety is the spice of life,” Jason said. “While I was traveling in New Zealand, doing a six month backpacking trip with my fiancé, I took her to her first glacier and she said ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could work a glacier, maybe in Alaska?’ and that’s where it all started.”
“ The people are the best part of my job. There are people from all over the world. We have locals, people from the lower forty-eight, and just about everywhere else you can think of, and they all are making the trip of a lifetime,” said Jason, “ I just get to tell them about what I know and hope that they didn’t make the trip for nothing.” |
- Laura Karr