Silver Bay native interning close to hom

• Geissler

Central Lakes College student Katie Geissler with her supervisor, Jason Peterson, assistant manager at Tettegouche State Park, where a new visitor center is in the making. Submitted

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Katie Geissler, a 2013 Associate in Applied Science degree candidate at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, is about a month from completing her internship at Tettegouche State Park. She’s working with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails Division and began her internship in May; she’ll be done on Oct. 21.

Tettegouche has grown from 28,000 visitors in 1986 to more than 330,000 in 2011. Due to temporary closure of the park’s 26-year-old visitor center, the summer of 2012 brought a steady schedule of construction-related duties. The intern’s first project: Build new steps and a safer, five-foot-wide path to Shovel Point at the mouth of the Baptism River.

“I just love being outdoors, having new opportunities, learning how to do things I never thought I would do as part of natural resources education,” Geissler said.

Routine chores included pulling invasive weeds such as cow parsnips from the campground, road repairs, brush mowing and weed whipping, and serving visitors at the trailer that is a temporary site for merchandise formerly sold in the gift shop. She also sold park permits.

“I am usually quite conservative in my ratings (of interns),” supervisor Jason Peterson, the park assistant manager, said. “Katie stands out among the 25 or so I have had the pleasure to supervise. She has excellent work ethic and a clear vision of what she wants to accomplish. She worked well independently and as part of a small group.”

Geissler is considering the University of Minnesota-Crookston to pursue her bachelor’s degree. She will leave CLC with not only her AAS degree but also a wildlife tourism certificate.

Tags: silver bay, outdoors, intern