Conservation Diaries: Olf Mouyaka, Advocating for Youth Programs, Volunteering, and Urban Parks

Conservation Diaries Podcast Series

Conservation Diaries is a podcast series from the voice of the youth of the National Park Service as they share their passion and commitment to conservation of America's natural and cultural treasures. Listen as interns, volunteers, fellows, or employees across the National Park Service share their perspectives on conservation and why it is important for youth to be involved in the stewardship of their public lands. Olf Mouyaka was interviewed by Nicole Segnini in 2022. Listen to the entire Conservation Diaries podcast series.

• Conservation Diaries: Olf Mouyaka, Advocating for Youth Programs, Volunteering, and Urban Parks

  
  

  Listen to this episode of Conservation Diaries as Olf Mouyaka shares his National Park Service journey, from a volunteer to a full-time employee.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS

  Audio Transcript

  [Music]

  Nicole: Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Conservation Diaries, a National Park Service podcast. I am your host, Nicole Segnini. In these new episodes we are highlighting current young National Park Service employees who were once interns, fellows, volunteers, or part of a specialized program.

  There are many ways young people can get involved with the National Park Service. And sometimes these youth programs can help you jumpstart your career as a full-time employee of the National Park Service.

  We caught up with some employees who have made this jump to hear about their experiences and their advice for young people.

  Today we are hearing from Olf Mouyaka, who is originally from the Republic of Congo and came here when he was 16 years old, settling with his siblings in Lowell, Massachusetts. Like many immigrants he faced challenges, such as learning a new language, cultural practices, and dealing with a much different climate.

  Olf: We got here in September. And September is fall, people are still wearing shorts here. They are still hanging out like it’s summer. And I remember just being so cold, just like freezing and thinking ‘this is the worst of it’ like it's never like.. I don’t like this, it's so cold... and then everyone was telling me like ‘Well winter is not here yet but it's coming, you know’ then I was like ‘it gets worse than this?’ Then every year since I've been like I got to move, I gotta move... 12 years I'm still here [laughs].

  Nicole: Olf’s journey to the National Park Service began back when he was a sophomore at Lowell High School.

  That’s when he met a park ranger from Lowell National Historical Park who had gone to his school for a career fair. At the time, Olf wanted to start working but didn’t want a stressful job and he thought the park could be a good option, so he applied for a volunteer position and began working at the park’s visitor center’s front desk.

  After volunteering for a little while, he became part of Lowell Spindle City Corps, a program that offers opportunities for local high school youth to participate in the Trades Skills, Summer Maintenance and Community Action Team programs at the park. He spent two summers helping paint fences, cut weeds, and more maintenance projects throughout the park. He also helped set up and break down the famous Lowell Folk Festival, an experience he says was unforgettable.

  While volunteering for Lowell National Historical Park, Olf was surprised to learn that there were so many different types of national parks and that they included urban parks. But as he continued volunteering at the park, he started learning more about the National Park Service and about his new home.

  Olf: Like the textile industry was big here. You get to learn about you know, slavery, African American history, and all those things and how even in the park that doesn't have any of the pieces on the arrowhead, a park can still be a park. Then I just started to fall in love with learning about where I was from, ‘cause then I was now from Lowell. I lived in Lowell, I wanted to know everything about it. And this was the place that knew everything about the city.

  Nicole: Before college he had the opportunity to join the Mass Parks Student Career Intake Program or SCIP, which has since been discontinued, and provided career training for local youth from urban and underserved communities in Massachusetts. He was able to visit many national parks in the area and was exposed to different careers at the National Park Service. Olf says the program helped him realize that he wanted to stick around.

  So, after he joined Merrimack College to study international business and French, Olf came back every summer to work as a seasonal park guide at Lowell.

  Olf: After I became a seasonal, I saw a real opportunity to become a park ranger, to put on a uniform and hopefully make a career out of it. I think after I became a seasonal, I was like alright, like this is an actual option right. This is an option. It's something that I can do. Not that I'm great at it but it was like I could see that there are things that I'm good at, that are being asked for and that that are needed of me and I can bring them in so then I decided to pursue it.

  Nicole: While he was a seasonal, he became a community volunteer ambassador where he helped connect the community to their volunteers.

  Through this public-private partnership between the National Park Service and Stewards Individual Placement Program, interns spend a year at a national park while strengthening the bonds between communities and parks and expanding service-learning and volunteer opportunities. He also trained some of the volunteers and helped them develop skills for public speaking, problem solving, networking, and more.

  After he completed the program, he was eligible for the Public Lands Corps noncompetitive hiring authority, a special hiring status which makes it easier for you to apply for a full-time federal job.

  Olf: And so I was told ‘yep once you do this, there’s a much higher chance for you to become a seasona, or to become a permanent employee’ and so I did that.

  Nicole: This is how Olf became a park guide at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts, where he helps maintain the website and make social media posts at times; he also works at the visitor center and helps with the volunteer programs. However, his biggest project is a summer camp called “Something Fishy Camp.” The two-week program is for kids in the 4th grade going into 5th and it teaches them about marine science and New Bedford’s history.

  He told me his favorite things about working at historical and urban parks are the communities which they are a part of, the stories he is able to tell, and the connections he continues to make.

  Olf: Here like the summer camp is great. The fact that, you know, I can see these kids in the summer and maybe walk the streets, you know, downtown in here, hey, often I like what's up, and you look around, it's a kid that you had at the camp like that connection there. I enjoyed that part of it that like, I don't want to be foreign. Like I don't want it to be that I see them once and I'll probably never see them again. And that happens when you get visitors from overseas and whatnot... But the community aspect of it is what I enjoy. Maybe selfishly, it's because I've only worked at parts that are urban parks right, they are in the city. They're small, and you work with people. But that that I think is probably my favorite.

  And the New Bedford history is incredible on its own. Whaling history I didn't know much about before I came here. I knew about the Underground Railroad by I didn't know that Frederick Douglass lived in New Bedford for two years and three years before he went on with his life. But, you know, we all know about Frederick Douglass, but to then be part of that story and be able to say, ‘I live where the man lived, like I walked the streets that he walked.’ I go you know, I can go into a church where you give a speech. So, some of those things, I think, make a place special and to be able to tell that story and I know not everybody gets to do that. But in my uniform I get to see that and do that so that's incredible to me, but um the community aspect of it is what makes it exciting for me I'd say.

  Nicole: Olf wants to inspire people, especially young black and immigrant kids, to follow their passion. He wants to be there for them, tell them about his experiences and empower them to contribute to their communities.

  He also wants to make sure our communities, regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion, know that national parks belong to them and that they too can enjoy and have an important role in helping to protect these beautiful places.

  Olf: For young people who don't see themselves represented, I'd say, they shouldn't think that they can't be the representation, that they can't start it, right. Like, I didn't see many Black people at Lowell, I didn't think to myself that I couldn't be the Black person at Lowell that then people look out for. I think it is easier when you see someone that looks like you, speaks and sounds like you to be able to connect and even be more comfortable to ask the questions. I think that helps. But I think the drive and desire in me and the background in me and the culture in me, and where I come from and how I was raised reminds me that in places where there's no one who looks like me, I can still be that person who then looks like me and creates an opportunity for maybe someone else. So out of my story, and you know, whatever this highlight is, I hope that people can see that. And I think my advice to those young people who don't see people who look like them or sound like them, who aren't of their background, that they can become that person that they can start... That if they don’t think it’s possible that honestly, they can be the person to do it.

  Nicole: Olf’s National Park Service’s journey started as a volunteer, and that is something he is still very passionate about. His advice for young people who want to start volunteering at national parks, or just volunteering overall, is to just go for it!

  Olf: I think often times people say I don't have time, like that’s the biggest thing ‘I don’t have time, I can’t make the time’ but like when is it ever time? So, I think it comes down to desire. And I hope that in conversations I can show someone that hey, it's we want you to be a part of it and I think wanting to create a collective where if somebody is thinking about volunteering, reminding them that we need them... like I need you to be able to do this like I can't do it with that without you. The project however big it, you know, it is, or small, one person can do it, two people will probably do it better, three people could do it even better. So, creating that connection and reminding people that it only happens if we all do it. And hopefully spark something in them that says ‘I think I wanna do it’. And that’s my two-minute speech on ‘hey, you should volunteer.’”

  Nicole: From a volunteer to a youth program intern, to a seasonal, to a community volunteer ambassador intern, and finally a permanent employee... Olf has done it all at the National Park Service, yet his journey is just beginning.

  Right now, Olf is on a temporary assignment at First State National Historical Park in Delaware, working as an Education Technician. He is helping to prepare a program called " Saving the Past, Shaping the Future",” which brings nearly 500 4th graders to the park where they get to enjoy a full day of educational hands-on interactive activities from various local Delaware organizations.

  He is happy that he is helping at a park that also cares about community, youth development and stewardship. And where he can continue to help people understand why these historical sites are so important.

  Olf: right like, a courthouse can just be taken down and a new one can be built but the challenge of convincing them [people] that this one should stay, that this one has more meaning, that challenge is what excites me about working at urban parks and those places because the average person walks in and says ‘well this is just another building’ but why should I care about it? That often is the question, right? Like ‘why am I interested?’ [laughs]

  Nicole: You can learn more about the parks Olf has been working at on nps.gov/NEBE for New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, nps.gov/FRST, for First State National Historical Park.. And finally, nps.gov/LOWE, for Lowell National Historical Park.

  And remember, in these new episodes of Conservation Diaries, we are highlighting young National Park Service staff members, like Olf, whose National Park Service journeys started as volunteers, fellows, interns, or as part of a specialized program.

  To learn more about these jobs, internships, and volunteering opportunities, you can go to nps.gov/youthprograms.

  Thank you for listening!

  [Music fades]

Olf Mouyaka was born in the Republic of Congo and moved to the United States as a teenager in 2009

NPS Photo

Meet Olf Mouyaka, a park guide at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, who has also worked at Lowell National Historical Park and First State National Historical Park.

Olf was born in the Republic of Congo and moved with his siblings to Lowell, Massachusetts, in 2009. He graduated from Lowell High School in 2013 and then from Merrimack College in 2016, where he studied International Business and French.

His National Park Service Journey started in High School, when he met a park ranger from Lowell National Historical Park who had gone to his school for a career fair.

"We were an immigrant family, so I knew I needed to start working soon. But I kept pushing it off. Then I met that park ranger and I thought to myself ‘I want to be able to work at the national park because it seems cool’. That was it. It looked nice and less stressful!”

Olf became a volunteer working at Lowell National Historical Park’s visitor center’s front desk. This was his first ever job in the United States. Sometime after that he found out about Lowell Spindle City Corps. That program offers opportunities for local high school youth to participate in the Trades Skills, Summer Maintenance and Community Action Team programs at the park. Olf spent two summers as part of the Summer Maintenance team helping paint fences, cut weeds, and more throughout the park. He also helped set up and take down the famous Lowell Folk Festival, spending about 1,000 hours of work. While doing all these different projects around the city, Olf fell in love with his new home and its history.

“You get to learn about important parts of our history such as slavery, African American history, the textile industry, and much more. And I just started to fall in love with learning about where I was from, cause I [am] now from Lowell. I lived in Lowell, I wanted to know everything about it. And this was the place that knew everything about the city.”

Olf and other Mass Parks Student Career Intake Program, or SCIP, participants. They visited many national parks in the area and to be exposed to different careers at the National Park Service.

NPS Photo

While he was in college Olf joined the Mass Parks Student Career Intake Program (SCIP), which allowed him to visit many national parks in the area and to be exposed to different careers at the National Park Service. The program provided a structured progression of career training for promising local youth from urban and underserved communities. SCIP has since been discontinued.

Also during his college years, Olf began working in the Interpretative Division at Lowell National Historical Park, as a seasonal. He would come home from college every summer for the position.

Olf said SCIP helped him decide wanting to continue a long-term career with the National Park Service.

“After I became a seasonal, I saw a real opportunity to become a park ranger. To put on a uniform and hopefully make a career out of it. I think after I became a seasonal I was like alright, this is an option.”

Olf continued to demonstrate leadership potential and a great stewardship ethic while he was a seasonal employee, and he was chosen to be the park’s Community Volunteer Ambassador. The program is done through a partnership between the National Park Service and Stewards Individual Placement Program. The goal is to young people to assist park units in building lasting connections to local communities. While he was a CVA intern, Olf helped connect the community to their park volunteers, trained some of the volunteers and helped them develop skills for public speaking, problem solving, networking, and more. He also highlighted the volunteers’ stories on social media to publicly thank them for their efforts and to provide the public with the opportunity to do the same.

Olf as the Community Volunteer Ambassador, CVA, with local volunteers at Lowell National Historical Park. As a CVA, Olf attended community events, worked on outreach, and trained student interns and volunteers.

Courtesy of Conservation Legacy

After he completed the program, he also successfully completed the Public Land Corps (PLC) requirements. This is a work and education program that engages the Nation's conservation and service corps on public lands. After completing all the requirements, you obtain a noncompetitive hiring status for consideration when applying to competitive full-time federal positions.

“I applied at Lowell and it didn't work out. But I had also applied to New Bedford Whaling and I did get a call from the park. It's like a 90 minute, almost two-hour drive from Lowell. And I was just like, yeah, I'm moving. So I packed my stuff and came down into New Bedford.”

Olf became a permanent, full-time park guide under the Youth and Arts Program umbrella at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts. In this position, Olf helps maintain the park’s website, makes social media posts, he also works at the visitor center and helps with the volunteer programs. His biggest project is a summer camp called “Something Fishy Camp.” The two one-week summer camp programs are for kids in the 4th grade going into 5th and designed to teach them about the history and culture of the working port, from whaling days to the present.

“I love working with kids. They're brilliant. You can tell them anything and if they don't agree with it, they'll let you know. If they agree with it, they'll let you know. If they think it's good, they'll let you know. And I love that kind of uncensored, just straight-up real, honest reaction as to why they would care about something.”

Olf loves connecting with visitors and being able to tell important and sometimes lesser-known stories.

NPS Photo

Working at New Bedford Whaling cemented his love for urban parks. Olf loves the community aspect of working at these types of parks. And he also loves being able to tell important and sometimes lesser-known stories, some he himself didn’t know about before working at the park.

“I knew about the Underground Railroad, but I didn't know that Frederick Douglass lived in New Bedford for two years, three years before he went on with his life. But we all know about Frederick Douglass and to be able to say, I live where the man lived, I walked the streets that he walked... And to be able to tell that story in my uniform, that's incredible to me.”

Olf’s favorite part of his job is thinking about ways to help the community through partnerships and youth programs. He also wants to make sure people, regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion, know that national parks belong to them and that they too can and should enjoy and help protect them.

He wants young people, especially those who don’t see themselves represented, to see him and know that they too can pursue a career with the National Park Service. He wants to be a role model for them by sharing his experiences and empower them to contribute to their communities.

“How I was raised reminds me that in places where there's no one who looks like me, I can be that person who looks like me and create an opportunity for someone else. So, out of my story I hope that people can see that.

My advice to those young people who don't see people who look like them or sound like them is that they can become that person.”

Another advice from Olf: try volunteering. Olf’s National Park Service’s journey started as a volunteer, and that is something he is still very passionate about. He says people usually say they don’t want to volunteer because of time. But he wants to encourage young people to see volunteering as an opportunity to become better members of the community and help communities thrive.

“I hope that in conversations I can show someone that ‘hey, we want you to be a part of it’. I want to create a collective where if somebody is thinking about volunteering, I can remind them that we need them too. [Tell them that] we can't do it without you. The project, however big it is, even if one person can do it, two people will probably do it better... three people could do it even better.”

Olf Mouyaka, Park Guide at New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and Education Technician at First State National Historical Park.

NPS Photo

Olf is on a temporary assignment at First State National Historical Park in Delaware, working as an Education Technician. He is helping to prepare a program called "Saving the Past, Shaping the Future", which brings nearly 500 4th graders to the park where they get to enjoy a full day of educational hands-on interactive activities from various local Delaware organizations.

He is happy that he is helping at a park that also cares about community, youth development and stewardship. And where he can continue to make connections to the local communities.

“I want to be able to connect to people, and I in my opinion, I can do that better at an urban park. It could be different for someone else. But to me, being able to work at an urban park it has that feel to it that I can connect to people and young kids in the community much more easily. It feels like I get a chance to tell people who are so close to me, part of my community, about the importance of preserving our history and historical sites.”

Meet the Host

Nicole Segnini created the Conservation Diaries podcast series in 2021 during her Latino Heritage Internship Program internship with the National Park Service's Office of Communications in 2021. Venezuelan-born, she knows firsthand Latinx communities' passion and commitment to conservation and wanted to engage the rising generation of stewards—of all cultural backgrounds—to picture themselves in conservation careers or working in the National Park Service. Nicole used her background and experience in journalism, social media influencer, and television news producer to create the Conservation Diaries podcast series to bring out the stories of youth in the National Park Service from their own perspectives.

"There are so many young people in underrepresented and minority communities across the country who care so much about conservation, historical preservation, nature, wildlife, the outdoors, and our beautiful parks, and I think it's important that we elevate and amplify their voices and their important work. They are working hard to protect and preserve our natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources and I believe that work is usually overlooked. That's why I wanted to start something like this." - Nicole Segnini