TPWD: Blanco State Park
From RPTSWiki
Intern, Summer 2007
Blanco State Park
Overview of the Organization:
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department seeks to balance outdoor recreation with conservation as we achieve greater self-sufficiency. The organization oversees over 130 sites including State Parks, Historic Sites, State Natural Areas, Fisheries, Wildlife Management Areas, and more. Providing outdoor experiences, where young minds form values, will be our greatest contribution to the future.
Mission Statement:
To manage and conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas and to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
Job Description:
As an Intern, I have an entire spectrum of duties. For the office work, I assisted in preparing reports, correspondence, records and other related forms. I also operated the park computer system under park operating guidelines and collected revenue. I provided park information to inquiring visitors and callers. A lot of the times I am out in the field, assisting in the cleaning and maintenance of the park grounds and facilities. I also assisted with interpretive youth fishing clinics within the park. I also provided an interpretive program for the park over, "The important role water has on the land and its inhabitants". In this position, I also had the opportunity to ride along with the Park Peace Officer and get a gist of the law enforcement side of State Parks.
Qualifications:
One must be an Undergraduate OR graduate college student enrolled in an accredited college or university at time of application. You must have a minimum of 12 semester credit hours from an accredited college or university on transcripts, with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 grade point scale OR "Pass" on a Pass/Fail system. You must also submit an Internship Application Form as well as an Authorization and Consent for Disclosure of Criminal History Information.
Benefits:
There are tremendous benefits in working with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Aside from the health care benefits and accrued time off you earn, you are placed in a site that is generally pleasing to the eye and relaxing to work in daily. Being a State funded agency, the pay is dependent on what position you are hired on as. As an intern, you get paid rather well, starting at $9.29/Hr to $11.36/Hr depending on you qualifications. At Blanco State Park I was provided a room in the park. The state recently purchased RV trailers from FEMA, and I was able to occupy one of the camp sites designated for park hosts. Normally, employees are not allowed to "live" in the park; however, an exception is made for interns. There are also many training and staff development opportunities including extensive in-house training programs offering a variety of courses for professional and personal growth and development. They also sometimes send you to participate in various conferences, workshops, and seminars that are conducted out of the agency.MOST IMPORTANTLY: like the tree above, I was able to plant and set my roots in the organization through various networking opportunities.
~Contact Info~
Blanco State Park
Park Supervisor: Micheal Young
(830)833-4333
DEPARTMENTAL LINK:
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department