United States Army to United States Forest Service thanks to the VetsWork program of the Mt. Adams Institute. My name is Keoni and I am serving on the Malheur National Forest at the Prairie City Ranger District as a recreation technician. One month down and my only complaint is I wish the snow would melt faster so we can access more of our campgrounds and trailheads. Working with recreation is great in my opinion, I feel we work on the fun aspects of the forest such as getting to access campgrounds before anyone else and prepping them for the season and also maintaining the trailheads for hikers, bikers, hunters, and ATV/UTV riders.

If being outdoors on a daily basis at campgrounds or on a trail doesn’t excite you then recreation may not be for you. As far as training goes, I have been to major trail bridge inspector training and I am now certified to inspect trail bridges. The majority of my training will be in the summer months but that was a good start as I am one of the only inspectors in the north zone. Along with my time in the Forest Service, the Mt. Adams Institute has been there if I ever have a question or concern and conducts regular check-ins to make sure things are going smooth and that I’m getting the training and experience needed to better myself within the organization. I am looking forward to my future months and trying my best to do all I can so hopefully in the end I can land a full-time position.