Career Talk on the Chippewa National Forest
Travis and Kent speak to a high school class
Chippewa NF employees visited the Remer High School careers class to talk about their jobs as Forest Service employees.
On Friday March 20th, forestry technician Travis Jones, law enforcement officer Kent Ledermann, and wildlife biologist Kelly Barrett visited the Remer High School Careers Class to talk about their jobs as Forest Service employees on the Chippewa National Forest. The class is taught by Michael Horn. He has been bringing in speakers from a variety of disciplines to talk to the students. The purpose of the career class is to help kids pick career pathways and prepare for what comes next after high school. The Forest Service staff saw this as an opportunity to touch base with the community, especially young people who may be interested in a career in natural resources.
Travis, Kent and Kelly began their program by explaining the role that the Forest service plays as a Federal land management agency in relation to state, county and tribal lands. They wanted to impress upon the students that managing of lands on the federal level means not only caring for the land, but also serving the people. They also explained each of their job duties and what a typical day of work would be like. Each staff member shared with the students what their career pathways have been thus far. They spoke of the importance of education, applying yourself, and working hard to achieve your goals. Every summer the Forest Service has some job opportunities available through the Youth Conservation Corps program for young people 15 to 18 years old and they described how to sign up for the program.
Finally, the staff encouraged the students to look for volunteer opportunities in order to get as much experience as possible in their area of interest. They wanted the students to know that there are many types of careers with the Forest Service involving a wide variety of disciplines. They invited the young people to try a day of "shadowing" one of the forest service personnel through a day of work so that they could get the feel for what that type of job would be like.