Getting dream jobs has oftentimes been all about connections. Before, connections were made in person, during events or at random meetings in the bar. Today connections can be made from the comfort of your couch, as you scroll past posts of people you’ve met online. For Valerie Ramirez, it was Instagram that became a gateway to her dream job at the Parks Service.
About five years ago Ramirez, 25, came across a page on Instagram that she enjoyed, it was the public account of a girl who often posted about the outdoors. Her posts and the issues they touched were something Ramirez was drawn to, so she followed her and a few of her friends as well.
“One of her friends works at Prairie Creek and they posted on their Instagram like, ‘if anybody is looking for a job…’ so, I screenshot it and I emailed her, and she emailed me back and a month later here I am!” Ramirez said.
“Here” is Redwood National and State Parks, working as a Visitor Use Assistant at the entry booth in some of the campsites. She had been trying for years to get a position at any of the land management branches and this year she did. She picked up her life from Anthony, New Mexico, a suburb outside of El Paso, and moved to Northern California. Ramirez is a “COVID hire” which means the Park Service can keep her around for as long as they see the need for pandemic help, she hopes that will be for at least a year
The trees, the rivers and creeks, everything in the park has made her fall in love. The only thing that took her by surprise was the lack of diversity. Coming from the El Paso area she never had to experience being “different”, a large portion of the population there is latinx so coming to a majority white space for her was a bit of a shock.
“There’s really not that much diversity in my crew”, Ramirez said. “It seems that everybody is pretty much the same, so sometimes I feel like I stick out more. Sometimes I just feel like the color is seeping out of me and my accent is seeping out of me, like the culture is just on my forehead with flashing lights. But if I try to blend in, that would be sad.”
The one thing she thinks about that makes her feel more in control is the fact that she’s there, working at a national park. She chose to go to the park and the park welcomed her in. Yes, she can sometimes feel disconnected from her coworkers and herself, but at the end of the day she is a part of the change that needs to happen in the system.
Once again, it’s the cyclical loop we’re trying to break. People of color don’t go to parks because they don’t see themselves represented in them, but if we never go out, then we will never be represented. Like Lynda Jones’ Black People Don’t Go Outside it has to do with stereotypes, and those we have to break.
“I would say just come out here and do what you feel,” Ramirez said. “It really is a space for everybody. And in nature it’s about a relationship between you and “her”, she strips everybody away and it’s just like you’re raw.”