Honoring Couragion’s Park Ranger Role Model On World Ranger Day!
In celebration of World Ranger Day, we wanted to take time to thank Couragion’s Park Ranger role model – Laura Lacerte.
World Ranger Day is a day to honor those who are “devoted to safeguarding our parks and the landscapes and wildlife they hold. The day is a celebration of their work as committed and brave guards of the natural heritage.”
Park Rangers like Laura make amazing contributions to society in their jobs – they educate youth, care for animals, serve as stewards of the environment, and work to keep people safe. And in addition to all of this, Laura contributes further by volunteering as one of our video role models! In her videos, Laura gives students an in-depth look at the career of a Park Ranger. She shares details about a typical day on the job, describes her job tasks, shows her work environments, and discusses the education and training needed to obtain such a job.
Laura’s Park Ranger Career Quest is one of the most popular among students who use Couragion’s career exploration app. In fact, it is the second most selected career. In addition, nearly half of students find the career to be a best fit for their interests, values, and desired work characteristics. And over 60% of students express positive sentiments when journaling after they complete the Park Ranger Career Quest. Example student quotes include:
“It would be a good option for me to be outside and animals always have been my passion. I would also like to help educate the next generation.” - 9th Grader, White Male
“I like that you teach kids to keep the environment clean.” - 6th Grader, Hispanic Female
“This video was motivating… I would want a career that's all about wildlife & animals.” - 10th Grader, African American/Black Female
“A career like this involves being well educated, good in science, and interacting with people or animals. These are all things that I am good at and I want to keep improving more on.” - 10th Grader, Hispanic Male
“At first a Park Ranger job sounded horrible but now I LOVE it!” - 4th Grader, Hispanic Female
“I love the idea of being able to enforce laws, work with the fire department, and be in nature.” - 7th Grader, White Female
As evidenced by these student quotes, Laura is having a major impact on the next generation – giving them the confidence to pursue STEM education pathways and motivating them to consider STEM careers such as the Park Ranger. We are grateful that Laura volunteered her time to serve as a Couragion role model and thank her for inspiring the future workforce!
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1660021. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
