Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

After a whirlwind week of shooting, interviewing and editing videos for Gulf Islands National Seashore, it was a relief on Friday morning to finally be done. We had submitted our final exports to our client and took the moment to breathe and reflect on the hard — but rewarding — work we had done for the National Park Service during the last five days.

This week’s trip was my second alternative break trip with The Media School and the National Park Service, the first being last fall’s visit to Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Indiana. In addition to a larger scope of work and added travel time, our time in Mississippi this week was also unique in that we actually got the opportunity to present our work to the park staff before we went back home to Bloomington.

That presentation was ultimately the most rewarding part of the entire experience. In the morning we gathered our entire group and most of the park staff that were present today, including the park superintendent, into the auditorium of the park visitor center to show them our final videos for the first time on the big screen.

Seeing my peers stand up before everyone to introduce their individual videos was a welcome reminder of just how talented, hardworking and passionate our student group is. To be able to put our skills to use for a service project with the National Park Service and actually see the park’s reaction to our work made this experience all the more unforgettable.

After our presentation, our park ranger took us out to a restaurant appropriately called The Shed in the middle of what appeared to be an actual junkyard in rural Mississippi. Just as this alternative spring break trip surprised me in all the best ways, the barbecue was excellent. I’m writing this blog post now in a food coma, thinking about all that we accomplished this week and when my next national park trip with The Media School will be.