Olivia Dorko, She Reads. She Travels. She Becomes.
As we caught up with Olivia Dorko from her internship in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, she mentioned the smoke that was impacting the local areas, coming in from the wildfires in Canada. An intern with Student Conservation Association (SCA), Olivia has been assigned to Denali National Park and Preserve as an environmental interpretation intern. With over six million acres of wild lands, Denali is home to the highest peak in North America. Olivia’s role this summer is to offer programs that educate the public about the history and features of this incredible, protected natural resource.
“I was always outside when I was a kid,” said Olivia. “I was curious about animals and everything outside. Science was my favorite subject. I’ve been impacted by the climate change movement and drawn to public lands and protecting natural resources.”
Olivia was part of the generation of students who finished their last two years of high school during COVID. As a result, her ability to tour colleges was limited. She started her education at a community college but had friends attending Penn State’s Lehigh Valley campus. It was during her first semester at Lehigh Valley that she learned about Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM). “I wanted something in the environmental science sector, maybe education, maybe research,” she said. “I found that RPTM encompassed exactly what I wanted to do. It could potentially involve teaching and was not a typical nine-to-five job.”
As a RPTM student, Olivia selected the Outdoor Recreation Management option. She was a counselor for Outdoor School at Penn State’s Affiliate Nature Center, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, two times. She continued on to the position of Learning Group Leader (head counselor and environmental education) at Outdoor School. This past Spring semester, she developed an independent study with Shaver’s Creek. Her tasks included supporting STEM programs with Juniata Valley School District, supporting the Maple Harvest Festival, and working as a roving naturalist. Her research project was in bird ecology in which she studied the feeding habits of gold finches and purple finches.
Travel was and is a priority for Olivia. In Spring of 2024, Olivia participated in study abroad to Seville, Spain. “It is strange because my family didn’t travel a lot,” she said. “I enjoyed studying abroad. While I was there, I did a lot of solo traveling. It taught me a lot and showed me what I am capable of.”
To complete her pre-internship (300 hours) in RPTM, Olivia made her first trip to Alaska in the summer of 2024. She worked for a non-profit in southwestern Alaska that sent teams of student educators out to the local villages to run youth camps. “The focus was on the environment, culture and health,” she said. “We offered meal support programs as well as organized special events.”
Olivia also worked with Penn State RPTM faculty as an auditory analyst, analyzing auditory data collected within National Park Service with the end goal of prompting new ways to reduce sound pollution and enhance visitor and wildlife experiences. She is a certified Wilderness First Responder.
In her current role, her job duties align with the professional duties of a NPS Park Ranger. She has had the opportunity to shadow and work with all other aspects and divisions within the park service. She is excited to have the opportunity to work with the Youth Education programs that fall under a separate branch of the park’s organizational structure and focus on programs targeted for local youth.
“Denali is the only site in the National Park Service that has their own sled dogs,” said Olivia. “When visitors come to the parks, wildlife is not always out and available for visitors to see. They can, however, visit the sled dog kennels and see the sled dog demonstrations where the dog sleds run along a track.” Staff in the park are given the opportunity to volunteer with the sled dog program.
“Once a week, we are allowed to volunteer with the sled dogs,” she said. “We get to take them out for walks. My favorite dog is named Throne. He’s the biggest dog in the program.”
Olivia’s motto is: Try new things. “I’ve recently really focused on reading,” she said. “I also recently took up rock climbing and really like it.” When she graduates in December, Olivia is hoping to land a position with the National Park Service. “I’ve already started applying for some winter seasonal positions,” she said. “I hope to stay in interpretation and education. The location is up in the air and will depend on if and where I get accepted.”
Best of luck to you, Olivia Dorko. To quote poet Derek Walcott, ‘I read. I travel. I become.’”