Current Position: Landscape Architect/Planner
How long have you been with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and in what capacity?
17 years in my current position.
How did you become involved in working in the park system?
I was always very interested in the outdoors and spent most of my childhood outside. I came inside to eat and sleep. From an early age, my family visited and camped at state parks in Indiana. With my interests, this profession seemed like a good fit for me. I can still, to this day, remember the experience of my first visit to an Indiana State Park. The park was Turkey Run, I was 3 years old, and, as I walked trail 3, I remember thinking this was a wonderful magical place unlike anything I had ever seen or experienced.
Describe a typical day at your job.
(If there is no such thing as a typical day, then please tell us about your primary responsibilities and duties.)
Check phone and email messages, design new or redesign existing recreational facilities (trails, play areas, campgrounds, picnic areas, talk to property managers, coordinate projects with other divisions, review outside consultant work and provide input/guidance, attend meetings, visit properties to conduct research and/or site analysis, answer questions and/or provide information from/to the public, state park personnel, other divisions, and elected officials.
The planning a design of recreational facilities at Indiana State Parks & Reservoirs is my primary responsibility but the position does involve a considerable variety of tasks and responsibilities.
How many hours a week do you work in this position?
37.5 hours.
What aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
Designing a facility and then watching the public enjoy using it.
What do you find to be the greatest challenges of your job?
Bureaucracy and unnecessary meetings.
What kind of training/schooling is required in your position?
A Bachelor of Science degree.
What are a few of the projects that you've been working on recently that have been the most interesting?
An alternative style of play area at Fort Harrison State Parks with simulated boulders and a slide in the side of a hill.
If someone were interested in working in your position, what advice could you give them?
There are many faces to this profession. Make sure you focus on an area that interests you.
Please share any further thoughts you may have about working in the state park system:
This position is very rewarding to me professionally and personally, which is a good thing because financially it is not up to par. I had always wanted to work for Indiana State Parks and came here because of my interests, knowing that the salary was not what it should be.
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