Yosemite Leadership Program graduate Mirella Gutierrez shares how Yosemite makes her dreams come true. This story featured in our spring/summer 2023 Yosemite Conservancy magazine.
Yosemite National Park: a name synonymous with wonder, inspiration, and power. A name that conjures up images of marvelous natural wonders. A name that has been a source of inspiration for all who visit and has the power to draw many to see its beauty.
Yosemite has inspired a community of stewards that reaches far and wide. I am a product of the Yosemite Leadership Program (YLP) 2014 cohort, a donor-funded program that planted a seed of empowerment and commitment to protecting a place — not for myself, but for generations I will never have the opportunity to meet.
YLP showed me I belonged in these outdoor spaces and could make a difference. My National Park Service career began when I became a student ranger for Yosemite while still at University of California Merced through YLP.
A graduate of the Conservancy-supported Yosemite Leadership Program, Mirella Gutierrez has pursued a career in the National Park Service. “I would not be where I am today without these programs,” she says.
Many of us working in Yosemite have a spark moment that ignites our passion for the work we do. Mine happened while I was leading a 4th grade field trip in Yosemite Valley as part of my work as a student ranger. I will never forget the look of wonder and excitement the students had while we led them on an educational walk around Yosemite Valley. I got to relive the moment I fell in love with Yosemite as their eyes lit up, just as mine had. As the other rangers and I were saying our goodbyes, the kids began loading onto the buses. Among all the shouts of, “Thank you, Ranger,” “Bye, Ranger,” and “We’ll miss you,” was a young voice that said, “Bye, Hero.”
Thanks to that spark, I went on to work with middle-school students with the Udall Foundation’s Parks in Focus Program (another wonderful program supported by Yosemite Conservancy donors) as the Yosemite trip leader from 2017–2018.
Ranger Mirella Gutierrez with a group of fourth graders from Merced County on a field trip with the Every Kid Outdoors program.
My dream is to connect future stewards to these incredible ecosystems. Yosemite is not just a place of waterfalls and sequoias; it is a culmination of human stories and hands that have all touched it and want to be part of its future. I have spent the past few years in the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center focusing efforts to better connect the Spanish-speaking community to Yosemite. Now almost 10 years since the start of my journey — and after working with students, visitors, and bears — I find myself back in the Yosemite Education Office working directly with students and the program that gave me everything I love so dearly.
Yosemite Leadership Program: a name synonymous with wonder, inspiration, and power. A name that conjures up the image of students exploring and learning about the wonders of Yosemite, as they become the next source of inspiration for future stewardship projects and efforts, who have the power to create lasting change.
Thanks to our donors for supporting youth programs in Yosemite! Want to see some of the photos from Parks in Focus participants? Check out the Parks in Focus Flickr pool, and stay tuned for announcements about seasonal exhibits of students’ work in and beyond the park! Read more about Mirella’s transition from YLP to NPS in this blog post from 2020.
