27 Jun Supervisor Cristian

Week 4 has just finished and the weeks are just flying by! I am the Summer Intern Assistant for the YCC Interp program for the Grand Canyon, so I have a lot on my plate. I overlook 11 YCC intern high school students. It’s crazy to think that me, a boy from the Inland Empire in California, can actually be someone’s supervisor. Their ages range from 14 to 18, but these kids are so unique in their respective ways. All of them have grown up here at the Grand Canyon and they offer a special perspective on it. I’ve gotten to know each of them particularly well, and it humbles me that I get to share my experiences to them – and they’re so receptive. Of the 3 recent high school graduates, one will be attending Northern Arizona University, another at a local community college, and another will be going into the Navy. 2 are rising high school seniors, whose struggles in life are completely close to mine. Another 5 are rising juniors, with 1 lonesome rising sophomore. These individuals share a close bond, not only with each other, but with the environment around them. They’re sharing so many stories of themselves to me, they’re sharing their home to me, and allowing me to be part of this unique community.

Aside of getting to know them, I have to juggle supervisory duties. I have to juggle schedules, observing, texting them if there are any issues, resolving problems, driving everywhere around Grand Canyon Village making sure that they are being effective, well treated, and being part of the near 500 employees at GRCA. Being a supervisor is not a foreign concept to me, I am second in command at the after school program I’ve been working at for the past 3 years in Albuquerque, but being “the boss” here is a new story, it’s with the park service. I don’t think I’m grasping the severity of my position, of how I’m working at Grand Canyon National Park, I’m surrounded by gorgeous vistas, and I’m part of a special group of individuals who I hope to inspire that even though I’m not the usual demographic that NPS employees, I’m still valid and serving the new ideology that the park service hopes to serve entering their new centennial.