30 Aug New Citizens at the LEWI

I couldn’t ask for a better last week for my internship. I finished my summer interpretive kayaking with 3 wonderful families. They enjoyed kayaking for their first time and learning about Lewis and Clark and the importance of the river.  For the first time ever the park hosted a ceremony to welcome 19 new citizens to the United States. These new citizens ranged from all over the world including China, Russia, Mexico, France, and Ethiopia. To honor these new citizens I participated in a fire volley with 4 other rangers. We all lined up in a row with our rifles and shot in sequential order starting with me. The crowd loved it. This was a great way to end my Latino Heritage internship. Not only did the park welcome me, someone to help outreach to the local Latino communities, but they welcomed a larger group of people in their goal of becoming more inclusive. It was a moving experience and I’m glad I was part of it.