I wanted to add a post about my experience this summer working for the Montana Conservation Corps. My hope is that some of you will read this and be interested in the type of work that puts you in some of the most beautiful places in this country while giving back to the communities that you work in. It was an amazing opportunity, and one of the best decisions of my life.

After almost 3 years of sitting at a cubicle doing office work, and after many years of being on the coolworks website dreaming about the jobs and wanting the courage to just go out there and do it, i applied for the Montana Conservation Corps for the 2009 season. I submitted my application in November and found out in early February that I was hired. I was thrilled! I would finally leave this cubicle, dead-end job and go out to see some of the most beautiful places in the country! I worked for the Montana Conservation Corps from May 26 - November 6th. The work, the friendship and the scenery told me my decision was right to leave and do something outside, in nature, under the stars.

Working for a conservation corps, whichever one you may decide to go with, is an amazing opportunity. There are differences between conservation corps jobs and many of the other jobs on coolworks. Many of the jobs on coolworks offer positions working as servers, guest service agents, bartenders, in some of the most beautiful places in the country, such as Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Acadia National Parks. Working for a conservation corps allows you to work in the same beautiful places with the difference of actually doing your work outside, on trails or prairies, breathing in some of the freshest air you've ever experienced. There is nothing wrong with either option. It just depends on what you're looking far.

My experience with the Montana Conservation Corps allowed me to learn all various types of "conservation". During our 5 1/2 month AmeriCorps term of service (which, may I add, looks GREAT on a resume), I worked on over 50 miles of trails in the Bridger Teton National Forest in Wyoming, built fences on a North Dakota National Wildlife Refuge, sprayed for invasive weeds on a National Wildlife Refuge near Great Falls, Montana, helped rehibilitate the Arctic Greyling (a fish almost extinct in North America, and is now only found in western Montana), and helped people stay warm this winter by insulating their homes.

The types of work we did this season varied. However one thing always remained the same: I learned something new every day, while helping people and their communities. No matter how hard it was during the day, how "boring" some of the work was or how exhausted I was laying down in my tent at night, I went to bed knowing that I had given my all to give back. And there is no better feeling than that.

If you are interested in getting outside, learning to live in a way you probably never would think you'd be living, sleeping in a tent, giving back to communities, building friendships that last lifetimes, losing weight, building muscle, taking thousands of pictures, breathing fresh air, staring at the stars every night, and learning to believe in yourself... then you go to www.coolworks.com and click on the Conservation Corps tab at the very top and take a look at the different places you could go.

If anyone has any questions, please send me a message or a comment on my page and I will gladly answer any questions or concerns you may have. CoolWorks offers jobs in great places - just imagine actually doing it. And do it :-)