ACI Newsletter: The Balance Wheel

The Balance Wheel: Fall 2003

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Take Chances, Be Brave

By Joan Guilfolye

This summer a twenty-something woman accepted a full-time permanent position with the National Park Service, a highly coveted offer for aspiring Park Rangers. She will become our newest “Park Guide” doing interpretive communications and visitor center operations in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in St. Paul, Minnesota. Though well aware of the many tasks awaiting her arrival, I found myself suggesting she not push her start date too soon: “Take a little time before you come onboard. Once you start, you may be in for thirty years. Go do something radical.” “Europe for six months?” she asked. “How about two weeks?” I replied, grinning.

This conversation reminded me of when I’d first joined the ranks of civil servants, 22 years ago. I think I’d shocked the family. After all, I was a suburban girl. What did I know from wildlife except squirrels, robins and the pet-able fauna at Chicago’s Santa’s Village? I was, however, constantly bringing baby rabbits and injured squirrels into the house to save them from the jaws of our German Shepherd and, during the summer of 1962, was fascinated (versus grossed out) by hundreds of empty locust shells clinging to the lilac bushes. But wild plants? I thought rhubarb was an exotic species.

All that changed on Earth Day, 1974. I’d slipped into a darkened room on campus to see a slide show about naturalists (today, we call them interpreters). It was one of those moments in life that shines with “Waterford” clarity. Before the projector bulb had cooled, I’d approached the bearded professor and proclaimed “I want to do that.” Within weeks, he’d helped me land a summer camp job (through pure enthusiasm, I think) and register for environmental classes that fall. I’d discovered not just a career but a passion, and a way to live it.

As years passed, I’ve become more aware of how fortunate I was in that moment. At my high school reunion, I handily won the award for “Alumna with the Most Unusual Profession.” Who knew what an interpretive park ranger was, anyway? My friends had become commercial real estate developers, bought into McDonalds or become housewives whose days consisted of golf, bridge and going to the “club”. I envied none of them. I’d been lucky enough to help save bald eagles, whooping cranes and a tiny butterfly called Karner Blue. I’d worked with wonderful people like biologists who endeavor to keep fish out of dam turbines, wildlife agents who spend long hours in nasty places to catch mussel poachers and endangered turtle importers, outdoor writers who tell the full story hidden behind the five o’clock news and Interior Secretaries passionate about their huge responsibility. Now I work with educators and interpreters dedicated to sharing and spreading love of the Mississippi River, and creating more stewards of the earth. There are other great causes out there, too. If you’re a member of ACI, you know that.

That enthusiastic young woman decided to wait a month before starting this new phase of life. While I realize her career path may be very different from mine, I applaud her choice. Thirty years in one career area, even with the “feds,” is perhaps less common now. My aunt did 25 and, at 87 this year, likes to say she has now been retired longer than she worked. But whatever path our new Park Guide takes, I’m sure her passion and commitment will carry her. As I move into my last decade of “compensable” work (volunteer world, here I come!), here are some things I wish I had known in the beginning, and offer here as food for thought.

Actively engage in learning your whole life long, whether through formal or informal classes. (It was hard completing a Master’s degree while working full-time but it exposed me to lots of new thinking and current research. And I believe it helped me compete for a major career switch.)

Do what feels right at the time and it will lead you to what feels right in the future. (I left government work to enable a move to a new city following divorce, and to learn new skills. When I serendipitously rejoined the government three years later, I discovered that my private sector experience was a valued and unusual credential. I had not known exactly where my career (or life, actually) would go when I’d left, but that was less important than doing what felt right at the time.

It’s not all about career. Your personal life needs to be healthy and balanced, too. Keep good boundaries between them. Try not to take too much work home on weekends and use all your vacation hours. Everyone needs time off.

It’s not all about money either. Consider how much happiness in a job (read: good boss, good coworkers, good work) and a healthy lifestyle (e.g. walking to work versus a long commute) are worth to you. It may be difficult but do calculations with more than money in mind. In my case, I once moved out of an unhealthy work environment to a lower-graded, but great job. Though that choice lowered my income and had potential negative implications for retirement benefits, it turned out to be the best move I ever made. I did eventually regain my income level, but the process of seriously thinking the question through helped me realize that money is truly not everything.

Any person you meet or work assignment you get can lead to interesting things and make a major difference in your life. Be open to what comes your way and step up to the plate. Synchronicity rules! (Little did I know during early meetings on whooping cranes that they would lead to opportunities to lead a large team of communicators from seven states and a province, work with international media and develop new skills in complicated partnership projects. This project ultimately helped my work stand out and thus increased my ability to compete for future, and equally, cool projects.)

If you have difficult people above, below or around you, see what you can learn from the situation. It might teach you how not to behave with others, and there is value in that. If it becomes really unhealthy, put feelers out everywhere you can for your next career move. Don’t stay around and get mad or bitter. It is your responsibility to take care of yourself, not anyone else’s. For me, I think I am a better supervisor today because of the few I had who were not great role models and those who really inspired me. I learned from both kinds.

Thoroughly check out prospective employers. The history, mission and “culture” of the agency and management style of your boss can be critical to your ability to succeed. Make job interviews cut both ways and ask good questions before you accept an offer. Your potential boss will respect that. Both of you want a good match.

Finally, trust yourself. You are the best judge of where your life should go.

Joan’s Bio:
Guilfoyle transferred to the National Park Service in February 2002 as Division Chief for Educational Partnerships, Visitor Services and Public Affairs, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a partnership park in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Her federal career includes work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Forest Service. She traveled last fall on the longest human-led migration in history, which used ultralight aircraft to reintroduce whooping cranes to eastern North America (see WINR, Volume 22, Number 4, 2001) and plans to write a book to raise funds for the project. Contact her at joan_guilfoyle@nps.gov

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