Seasonal teams have long been essential to the Friends of Acadia’s mission, contributing energy, skill, and a fresh perspective to projects ranging from trail stewardship to education to community engagement.

Over the decades, seasonal staff have formed a living legacy—one that extends far beyond a single summer or field season. Many are drawn by the park’s striking landscape but leave with something deeper: a sense of purpose, a connection to place, and often a path that carries their experience into careers in conservation, public service, and beyond.

For Jordan Gibeault, a summer with Friends of Acadia marked the beginning of a lasting connection to public lands—and a career shaped by it. Traveling from Middletown, Delaware, to Acadia National Park for his first seasonal position away from home, Gibeault arrived with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. What he found was a community of peers and mentors united by a shared commitment to conservation and visitor experience.

One early moment crystallized that connection. On his first solo trail rove along Ship Harbor Trail, a short 1.3-mile loop, Gibeault encountered a cross-section of Acadia’s remarkable diversity: dense spruce forest, the distant call of a loon, and a harbor seal moving through the water nearby. The experience underscored what makes Acadia so special—not just its beauty, but its accessibility. “Few places allow visitors an experience like that,” he reflected, recognizing both the privilege and responsibility of helping others safely access such landscapes.

As a Summit Steward, Gibeault’s work centered on the intersection of resource protection and visitor safety. He often stationed himself at busy trailheads along Park Loop Road, including the Beehive. There, he developed a deep appreciation for the link between Leave No Trace principles and preventative search and rescue. By guiding visitors to follow Bates cairns and blue blazes, he helped ensure hikers stayed on durable surfaces while avoiding fragile vegetation—protecting the landscape while also reducing their injury risk. These interactions, repeated day after day, became some of the most meaningful aspects of his season.

Equally impactful was the opportunity to work alongside National Park Service staff. Collaborating with rangers across divisions gave Jordan insight into the many pathways within public lands careers and helped clarify his own direction. By the end of the season, he was no longer just exploring an interest—he was preparing to pursue it.

Today, Gibeault serves as a Backcountry Ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where he patrols hundreds of miles of trails and supports visitors navigating remote terrain. The throughline from his time at Friends of Acadia is clear. The same skills he developed as a Summit Steward—educating visitors, promoting safe travel, and protecting natural resources—are now part of his daily work.

Looking back, Gibeault sees his season at Friends of Acadia as a turning point. It was there that he discovered not only a love for public lands, but also a sense of purpose in serving the people who visit them.

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Ryan Sharp came to Friends of Acadia via Athens, Georgia, where he was pursuing a Ph.D. With a background that included a B.S. from SUNY Cortland and an M.Ed. from Georgia College, his 2008 season as a Recreation Technician marked a formative moment—one that he says would both his career and shape sense of purpose.

Looking back, he describes that summer as nothing short of “magical.” Days were often spent walking Acadia’s trails, engaging visitors in conversations about Leave No Trace principles, while other times were devoted to trail work and keeping the park clean. The experience offered something rare: an opportunity to know Acadia National Park intimately, not just as a visitor, but as a steward.

Among many memorable projects, one stands out: an overnight trip to Isle au Haut with the team. Working together on the island for several days and staying in a rustic cabin fostered camaraderie and a sense of adventure—an experience made all the more memorable by the crew’s personalities and shared humor.

The relationships built that summer proved just as impactful as the work itself. Sharp recalls especially the experience of working alongside seasonal Ridge Runners (a precursor to today’s Summit Stewards), balancing a sense of fun with a shared commitment to the job.

Most influential, however, was Resource Specialist and “visitor use guy” Charlie Jacobi, now retired from the National Park Service. He was a mentor whose guidance and example left a lasting impression. Through that mentorship, Sharp was introduced to the field of visitor use management and was connected to a broader network of professionals.

Today, he serves as a Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Park Management in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee. The connection to that 2008 season is clear: the hands-on experience, professional connections, and exposure to on-the-ground park management directly informed Sharp’s academic and research path.

To this day, Sharp describes his summer as a Recreation Technician as “the best job I have ever had.”

For Cindy Pearce, a season with Friends of Acadia was as much about connection as it was about conservation. Traveling from Asheville, North Carolina, Pearce joined the Stewardship Crew in 2019 and quickly found herself immersed in both the physical work of trail stewardship and the vibrant community that defines a season in Acadia National Park.

Some of her most memorable moments came outside work hours, when she explored the park with her husband. One hike in particular—the Precipice Trail—stood out. What began with hesitation turned into a shared sense of accomplishment as they encouraged each other to the summit. But just as meaningful were the quieter, everyday moments on the job: being shown wild blueberries growing trailside by a fellow crew member, or learning (and quickly forgetting) the scientific names of trees while working. These small experiences made her feel not just like an employee, but like someone truly living within the landscape.

Pearce’s work as a Stewardship Assistant centered on hands-on trail projects, many of which left a lasting impression. She recalls a multi-day effort digging a drainage ditch alongside a trail to better manage water flow—an experience that highlighted both the physical demands of the work and the power of teamwork. Working alongside fellow crew members and student volunteers, she found joy in shared effort, lunchtime conversations, and the visible results of their labor. Another season-long project, building a gravel path and restoring the surrounding edges with earth and moss, offered a different kind of reward: watching a trail evolve over time through steady, collective care.

What stands out most from Pearce’s season is the sense of community. Whether working shoulder-to-shoulder on trail crews, collaborating with dedicated volunteers, or bonding over trivia nights and group outings, she found herself surrounded by people deeply committed to both the land and one another. That shared passion left a lasting impression.

“Being surrounded by people who genuinely cared about the land and each other made every workday feel purposeful,” she reflected.

Today, Pearce serves as Director of Operations for Naventure’s Pisgah operations in Pisgah National Forest, where she oversees campgrounds, group sites, and recreation areas within a busy national forest system. Her work continues to center on creating meaningful outdoor experiences—both for visitors and for the teams she leads.

The foundation for that work, she said, was built during her time at Friends of Acadia. There, she was first trained in Leave No Trace principles and introduced to the realities of trail maintenance. More importantly, she developed a guiding philosophy: that meaningful experiences in nature inspire people to protect it. It’s an idea that continues to shape her leadership and approach to visitor engagement.

Years later, that influence is still tangible. As she prepares to lead a large volunteer tree-planting effort in Pisgah, Pearce finds herself drawing directly on the confidence and skills she developed as part of the Stewardship Crew.

For Alex DeLucia, a single season as a Ridge Runner with Friends of Acadia became a turning point—one that reshaped not just a career path, but an entire relationship to public lands.

Before arriving in Maine, DeLucia’s work centered on guiding and personal recreation—helping people experience and enjoy the outdoors firsthand. But his Ridge Runner position in 2000 marked a shift in perspective. Rather than being a user or facilitator of recreation, he found himself stepping into the less visible but essential world of stewardship: caring for the trails, systems, and landscapes that make those experiences possible. That transition, he reflected, was a “game changer,” redirecting him toward recreation management, land management, and long-term stewardship work.

Immediately following his season at Acadia National Park, DeLucia began a career with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). What started as a seasonal position soon evolved into a long-term role spanning decades. Over time, he moved into year-round work within the AMC’s trails department, spending much of his career coordinating and supporting volunteer engagement in the field.

That continuity allowed him to maintain a meaningful connection back to Acadia even as his work expanded. Through AMC’s programs, he helped lead trail volunteer efforts in Acadia, often based out of the organization’s camp on Mount Desert Island. Those seasons brought him back to familiar terrain, working alongside park partners and reconnecting with colleagues in the field, including long-standing figures in Acadia’s stewardship community such as Charlie Jacobi, Gary Stellpflug, and others.

DeLucia now serves as the Director of Trails and Recreation Management for the Appalachian Mountain Club, managing trails projects across a vast geography—from Virginia to Maine. Looking back, DeLucia traces much of his professional identity to that early Ridge Runner experience. It was the moment when abstract appreciation for public lands became hands-on responsibility for their care. The shift, subtle at first, ultimately defined the trajectory of a 25-year career dedicated to trails, stewardship, and the people who maintain them.

For Sam Mallon, three seasons with Friends of Acadia became less a job and more a defining shift in how she saw both storytelling and the natural world. She joined Friends of Acadia’s Digital Media Team (ADMT) already interested in visual storytelling—but left with a deeply reoriented sense of purpose.

One memory stands out as both a beginning and a kind of threshold moment. During her first week, she and fellow ADMT members hiked the Beehive for sunrise. What they encountered was what she describes as one of those “rare, almost cinematic mornings: fog rolling over cliffs, clouds dissolving above the ocean, and light breaking slowly across the landscape.” It was the kind of scene photographers spend years chasing—and for Mallon, it became something more than a photo opportunity. It clarified, in a single moment, that she was exactly where she needed to be.

Much of Mallon’s work also brought her into close contact with the park’s scientific and stewardship teams, where her role expanded beyond photography into observation and documentation of conservation work in action. Time spent with the Invasive Plant Management Team was particularly formative. Following field teams into places like Baker Island and Great Meadow, she documented hands-on ecological management work—cutting thistles, monitoring vegetation, and learning directly from scientists working in the field.

At one point, she set her camera down and picked up clippers, joining the work herself. That day, starting with documenting science to briefly stepping into it, was transformative. With a background in journalism and visual media rather than science, she says she never considered herself part of that world. But working alongside field biologists and other park staff changed that perception completely.

She says what emerged was a new understanding of environmental storytelling—not as distant reporting, but as living and working in close proximity. Being in the field with scientists revealed the everyday labor behind conservation: the repetitive, careful work that she says rarely makes it into public narratives. It also reframed her sense of audience. She began thinking more intentionally about how visual storytelling could make scientific work accessible, especially for people who might never otherwise encounter it.

A major project during her time with FOA reinforced that direction: working as a production assistant on a Portland-based production agency’s film about Friends of Acadia. For Mallon, it was a first close look at professional documentary production as a collaborative system rather than a solo journalistic practice. Watching a team coordinate field schedules, storytelling goals, and technical execution offered a new model for what creative work could look like.

By the end of her seasons in Acadia, Mallon says her trajectory shifted. What she had once imagined as a traditional journalism path expanded into something more specific: environmental storytelling rooted in science, fieldwork, and collaboration. That evolution continued beyond Friends of Acadia, into roles in video journalism and as an independent filmmaker.

Today, Mallon works primarily with OceanX aboard the research vessel OceanXplorer, where she serves as a digital imaging technician and assistant editor. In that role, she manages and organizes vast quantities of scientific media collected during deep-sea expeditions—submersible dives, aerial surveys, and onboard filming—ensuring that data and imagery are preserved, cataloged, and ready for post-production storytelling.

The parallels to her time in Acadia are unmistakable. Whether working alongside field scientists in Maine or marine researchers in the deep ocean, her role continues to sit at the intersection of science and storytelling. She is still doing what she first discovered in Acadia: translating complex environmental work into something others can see, connect with, and understand.

Looking back, Mallon describes her time with Friends of Acadia not just as formative, but foundational. It shaped how she thinks about storytelling, collaboration, and purpose. And more than anything, it gave her a lasting sense of what it means to do work that feels fully alive in place.

For Jesse Wheeler, participating in the Acadia Youth Conservation Corps (AYCC) in 1995 was “so transformational”—an experience that introduced him not only to trail work, but to a lifelong career in stewardship within Acadia National Park and the National Park Service.

Wheeler said one of his favorite memories is rooted in the simple rhythms of crew life: “Enjoying lunch together on the side of the Ocean Path after shoveling gravel and compacting it all morning.”:

“AYCC allowed us to feel pride for the work we did,” he said. “Even if the quality of the finished product wasn’t nearly as good as the professionals.”

Those moments of shared work and camaraderie became just as memorable as the projects themselves.

Among One of the projects that left the strongest impression was work on the Beech West Ridge Trail, where the crew cleaned water bars and completed general maintenance. The work was muddy, physical, and often exhausting—but also fun. Wheeler especially remembers Peaches, a crew leader from either the Maine Conservation Corps or the Appalachian` Mountain Club, who led the team through stretches and taught proper tool techniques.

“It made the work fun as well as dirty!” Wheelerhe said.

The mentorship he received during that season also left a lasting mark. Wheeler recalls feeling genuine support from National Park Service trail staff, especially mentors like Christian Barter and Pete Coleman. Through those relationships, he gained confidence, practical skills, and a firsthand introduction to stewardship work within the National Park Service.

That introduction ultimately shaped his entire career trajectory. “Getting an introduction to the NPS and learning how to work hard until we accomplished our tasks” gave him both direction and motivation. After AYCC, Wheeler spent three seasons as a Biological Science Technician in Acadia’s botany program before continuing on to Cape Cod National Seashore, where he monitored wetland flora. He later worked with the National Park Service Inventory & Monitoring Division measuring forest health before returning to Acadia to lead the park’s invasive- plant management team.

Today, Wheeler serves as Vegetation Program Manager for Acadia National Park, overseeing projects involving invasive- plant management, native- plant restoration, and forest- insect pest management. Looking back, he sees a clear line from his AYCC experience to the work he does today.

While Wheeler remains deeply appreciative of his own time in the program, he also sees how AYCC has evolved over the years.

“I really think the way AYCC has run in the last five years or so is much more enriching for teenagers,” he said. “I hope they all thrive after completing their program at Acadia.”

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JULIA WALKER THOMAS is Friends of Acadia’s Visual Storytelling and Visual Assets Manager.