Internship- Interpretation and Education Outreach

Position Description:

This internship is co-hosted by the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The interns will work at the park field headquarters in Port Alsworth. Interns will learn about many programs at the national park, but there will be an emphasis on customer service, public outreach and education programs, and will offer cross training opportunities in the natural and cultural resource fields.   

The primary goal of this internship is to hire an intern to assist with curriculum building and delivery for youth experiences in Port Alsworth and in local villages. 

Interpretation Work

The interns will work with the interpretation and education team to develop and hone skills in customer service, communications and public information, interpretation, and education programming skills through staffing the VC desk, co-facilitating junior ranger programming, writing social media posts, and creating and presenting original presentations and programs to the public.  They will also have time for self-study and work on projects of personal interest.  

The interpretation team will work directly with the intern to learn more about prospective career interests and coordinate job shadows within the park in Port Alsworth, as appropriate and able. This internship will provide opportunities for networking, skill development, multidisciplinary experiences, and knowledge of Lake Clark National Park and NPS processes. 

Training, Skills, Experiences 

Skills learned through training or on the job experience will include: 

Creative writing 

Customer Service 

Emotional Intelligence 

Public Speaking 

Public Information 

Public Presentation Delivery to General Audiences 

Education Programming Planning and Implementation 

Curriculum Building and Delivery 

Interpretation Professions in the NPS 

Presentation Development and Delivery 

Social Media 

Creative Thinking 

Climate Change Communication 

Conflict De-escalation 

Resume Building and Writing 

NPS/LACL policy 

Aviation 

Navigation and Map Reading 

Backcountry Navigation and Outdoors Skills 

Career shadow opportunities may be available in the following areas: maintenance, administration, backcountry, law enforcement, trails, archaeology, curatorial, natural resources, cultural resources, and more. The Interpretation team will work with the intern to determine potential areas of interest for shadowing and facilitate connections and experiences as able. 

Oversight: 

The Field Supervisor would be the first level supervisor for interpretation efforts and would provide all onsite training and mentorship for the visitor services internship components. Additional mentors are onsite to oversee daily tasks in respective professions. 

Physical Environment: 

Work is performed both indoors in an office setting and outdoors in the field. Outside work may be performed under extreme weather conditions and outdoor conditions common to Southwest Alaska including temperature ranges from 30-80 degrees in summer, in areas and possibly when typical summer fire smoke and rain occur.  

There are no grocery stores in Port Alsworth and all food is ordered online and flown in via small plane. There is a health clinic in Port Alsworth, but major services are a plane ride away in Anchorage.

Work Environment and Community: 

Much of the work will take place in a climate-controlled office setting and contacts may be repetitive in nature. Fieldwork will take place over rugged terrain and oftentimes carrying heavy and bulky gear when traversing high density bear areas in inclement weather.  

Lake Clark hosts many summer interns across multiple disciplines. Due to the nature of work in Lake Clark, workgroups are often dispersed across land and sea, and it is not uncommon to meet someone at the beginning of season and not see them again until the end! There is a community of rangers and locals located in Port Alsworth outside of immediate interpretation and resource teams. 

Member Benefits:

• $1,300 - one time RT travel allowance
• $600 - weekly living allowance
• AmeriCorps eligible ($2,626.27 AmeriCorps Award requires completion of 675 hours)
• Housing provided
  • The internship is based in Port Alsworth. The park provides housing shared with other interns that includes typical amenities: electricity, running water, shared common areas. All housing in the park has potential to share a bedroom, though we try to provide private rooms.

*All allowances subject to applicable federal, state, and local taxes

Member Qualifications:

• Driver's license not required