My name is Sara-Jo. As a prideful AmeriCorps NCCC class XV alumni, I have direct national community service experience in disaster relief, trail building, and wilderness preservation. Afterward, I enlisted in the PA Army National Guard for 8 years and served on the Counterdrug Joint Task Force in narcotic interdiction. Consecutive to my military service, my civilian employment was within the Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office of both the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Virginia. Additionally, I graduated from Drexel University with a BS in Criminology and Computer Science. I applied my degree to managing eDiscovery of various federal criminal and civil case files for discovery review, production, and trial presentation. Due to the pressure, stress, and high tempo of my civilian and military career I would escape out into the woods through outdoor recreational sports. Nonetheless, 10 years quickly flew by and I realized that I needed a radical change.
My build world didn’t align with my amicable personality, quirky creativity, and true love for the woods. I am a child of early Pennsylvanian ancestors dedicated to outdoor conservation, craftsmanship, and local historic storytelling. The Pocono hills and river is my personal healing place. It is there I forged my belief that nature is an absolute essential part of our wellbeing and living. I guided river expeditions along the Lehigh and Delaware River, led youth expeditions on the Appalachian Trail, and taught 18th – 19th century living history courses based on the Pennsylvania Eastern Woodland region and culture. I am grateful for my VetsWork AmeriCorps internship at my sponsored location at Grey Towers National Historic Site in the Pocono region. Serving as a Visitor Center Field Ranger I can expand my personal historic knowledge and share the significance of national conservation education.
