Field Notes: The Media School Travel Blog

I was tasked with summing up the past week working with three different National Park sites in South Carolina.

I just graduated from The Media School, and this trip was kind of like the last hurrah of college, which added to how much the trip meant to me.

I have had the opportunity to be a part of these trips as both a participant and a student leader, and every time, I walk away amazed at how much the team accomplishes in such a short period of time. In 10 days, we drove across five states, worked with three parks and produced 12 videos. We explored floodplains, got sunburnt, got excited every time we saw a dog and learned so much about the Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

The week was packed. We were either at the parks shooting or tucked away in cute little Airbnbs editing, but we still found time to bond as a team while eating great food and taking a break at a dog-friendly beach.

A highlight of this trip was definitely the park rangers we worked with. At every park, the rangers were ready to answer any questions we had and helped us learn more about the park. Every ranger was so knowledgeable and passionate about the parks. It was inspiring to see their commitment to sharing the history and beauty of the United States with thousands of visitors each year.

I was told several times during this trip that the history of the United States can be told through its national parks, and I am learning just how true that statement is. This week alone I learned more about the Civil War and the Reconstruction Era than I have in years.

To add to the amazingness of learning from the park rangers, the opportunity to produce videos for the parks and have the finished products actually be used and seen by the public is so cool and has helped me define my future career goals. I love that we can help out the parks while also learning so much about fieldwork and client communication.

So to sum up this trip: We worked hard, had fun, learned a lot and became a small part of the larger story of the National Park Service.