There are many aspects of parks, recreation and leisure that interest me. I am particularly interested in the conservation and continued expansion of our park system. The rich cultural history and natural beauty the parks provide are vital to our country. Growing up in the rural south, where resources were often scarce, my family depended on local, state and national parks for a great deal of our leisure and recreation. We spent many summers exploring, camping and canoeing the parks in our surrounding areas. This time spent in those protected spaces allowed me to see the world from a new perspective, realizing it was much larger than the dirt road where I grew up.
Last summer I took