“Children don’t hold back on what interests them and what doesn’t,” says Suffolk University history alumna Jennifer Steele, BA ’19, now the Youth Conservation Corps specialist for the National Parks of Boston.
Competing with screens, social media, and the myriad distractions of modern life, Steele has no shame belting out a song or becoming the target of good-natured jokes to create a sense of camaraderie and excitement for youth participants. Leading a youth-employment program each summer, she mentors local high schoolers on how to engage with even younger students as they learn about the city’s three NPS locations: the Boston African American National Historic Site, Boston National Historical Park, and Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.
Lately, teachers have been requesting field trips tied to their semiquincentennial lessons. And as the city welcomes Sail Boston’s Tall Ships this July, Steele expects even more eyes to be on the Charlestown Navy Yard, stewarded by the NPS and home to the USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy’s first vessels, which launched in 1797. Steele encourages visitors who come for the summer’s 250th, Tall Ships, or even World Cup festivities to stay and explore centuries of rich Boston history.
It’s a unique opportunity to move the National Park Service mission—to educate, inspire, and help future generations enjoy public spaces—forward, she says. “If people care a little bit more about these places, maybe they’ll start to make conscious decisions to be respectful toward wildlife and shared land.”
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spring 2026
National Park Service Ranger Jennifer Steele, BA ’23. Photograph by Michael J. Clarke
By Andrea Grant