Reflecting on my three weeks spent in Wyoming, I can confidently say that this program was the highlight of my summer. From hiking in Grand Teton National Park to watching bull riding at a rodeo, my time in the Cowboy State was full of new experiences.

Through all of these new experiences, my biggest takeaway was how to channel my curiosity about my surroundings into meaningful learned information. From the Cheyenne Frontier Days, I witnessed events unfamiliar to me such as steer wrestling, and was able to come away with a deeper understanding of the context in which these events were created. Many of the contests that take place at rodeos today have a mirror in competitions that took place amongst ranch hands in the early 1900s. Learning this gave me a better understanding of the heritage and cultural meaning of the rodeo as a symbol of state pride, deepening my connection to Wyoming.

Similarly, hiking around Grand Teton National Park gave me an unforgettable experience in learning about the role of park rangers. Grand Teton is a vast area, covering hundreds of thousands of acres and an uncountable number of tourists within. In my time spent in the park, I saw rangers educating visitors on the dangers of bears, guiding people along trails, and guiding a train of mules on horseback in order to conduct maintenance in a hard to reach area of the park. Their never ending work is an act of true dedication, one that takes up all hours of the day and true effort. Seeing this greatly increased my appreciation for their work, something I will keep in mind the next time I visit a national park.

I would not trade this trip for anything, and I can not wait to see where I may go in the future with the Frederick Honors College!