Growing up in Lincoln County, I knew even from a young age that I was blessed to be raised in such an enchanted place. As a kid, I spent my after-school hours in the mountains. Southfork trail was my playground. Monjeau Lookout was where I’d meet up with friends. But it took leaving home and returning years later to truly understand the depth of that childhood captivation. After finishing up college in west Texas with a bachelor in English, I returned to Ruidoso not entirely sure what the next step was; fortunately, I was introduced to the EcoServants community and a new chapter began to unfold. The land I grew up in took on unique dimension, and the trails I spent my youth exploring seemed entirely new. I was taught not only how to love the land, but how to sustain it and ensure future generations can enjoy the same splendor. Building and working in wilderness trails is something that everyone should experience, even just for a summer! Undoubtedly, working with EcoServants helped me see Lincoln County and the land I loved in a whole new light. My appreciation for the trails and wilderness took on new meaning, but it wasn’t until I began working as an EcoMentor with the Gavilan Canyon Alternative School that I began to feel the pull towards education and positive youth development. To this day, working with the teachers and students at Gavilan has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I was instantly accepted by the amazing staff there, and was free to develop learning and curriculum however I saw fit. It functioned as so much more than a school; it was a pure family environment, and you could tell that many students there saw the school as a second home. We were able to collectively share so many great experiences, and being able to incorporate EcoServants curriculum and trail building was a huge component, especially for many of the older teens. I moved to Colorado in the Fall of 2009, and quickly got involved in furthering my passion for youth development. I was fortunate enough to find the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, and I’ve been working with them ever since. Without a doubt, it was my foundations and experiences with EcoServants that launched me on this path, and enabled me to take my passion for service-learning and youth development to the next level. It is beyond encouraging seeing how EcoServants has flourished over the years and enabled so many other young people to discover new horizons for themselves. This organization is an invaluable resource to Ruidoso and the surrounding communities, and I hope they are able to continue serving the land and future generations for EONS to come!

The name EcoServants has an in depth meaning of servitude to the community. This in which I had the privilege of fulfilling as an employee for NMYCC. Through the 4 years of servitude I began as a designated crew member and later a crew leader. During that time I grew a companionship with my coworkers, community, and boss’s. They gave immense constructive encouragement as well as influenced me to surpass obstacles that led me to excel in life. I was employed at EcoServants my junior year of high school, initially I started out as a as a crew member. That summer I learned how to be independent through serving someone other than my parents. Taking matters into my own hands was difficult being that I was only a teenager. Nevertheless I had a merciful crew leader there to guide me. I learned quickly that if the task wasn’t done correctly there was no one to blame but myself. This was tough to understand at the time, but now I know how to take responsibility for my own actions. There were times when my crew leader encouraged me to continue trying when I had failed at a task. Without their encouragement I would have remained a failure. Eventually I accomplished my goals and succeeded in that area of expertise through their guidance and wisdom. My boss’s treated me with utmost respect as well as positively influenced me in unimaginable ways. They illustrated how a true leader should behave through their actions. There were days when work was tough, overwhelming or unorderly, but they always found a way to resolve the issue. My bosses have done so much for their employees. I remember several occasions when Stephen and Paula took us camping or bought us pizza and never asked for anything in return. At the end of every summer they allowed us to do something adventurous or entertaining just to end the job on good terms. They also took the time to know everyone and were accepting of those that didn’t fit in or needed more guidance then others. They treated everyone to the best of their ability and encouraged us to finish what we started in order to be successful. If I could take anything from working at EcoServants it would be too improve my people skills and be a true leader like Paula, Stephen, and the crew leaders. By accomplishing this I hope to impact those around me and create a brighter future for my companions. My fourth year I had the privilege of becoming a crew leader. This taught me patience and understanding. There is more to leadership then what’s perceived. It’s a selfless act because you must put your crew members before yourself. It was of high importance for my crew to reach their goals. This would provide an illustration for them later in life when choosing a career path. I have high hopes that this influenced them to live a prosperous life. It was a difficult task but rewarding at the end when they accomplished their objectives and reached their potential. ​Today I am an ambitious undergrad college student that is going to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics. Without EcoServants willingness to contribute scholarships and generously pay the employees I wouldn’t be in school today. I appreciate EcoServants for everything they taught me and for all hard work they put in to make this job enjoyable.

My Super Rad Summer Journey with the EcoServants mentally exhausted from working indoors at lame retail and restaurant jobs, I needed something new. Fortunately, trail aficionado, Shilaquay Carbajal (who happened to be my coworker at TCBY), told me of an exciting and unique summer work experience known as EcoServants. Though I was a bit reluctant at first, I can confidently say employment has never been so much fun. The first couple weeks were a combination of excitement and violent frustration, with the excitement stemming from getting to know each other and the projects we were going to take on, and the blinding rage from perfecting the fundamentals of sexy trail building. Though it was a challenge, with each day passed, the trails we built would look a bit nicer and our EcoServants family would grow a little closer. It was not long before the crews began building gorgeous trail and subjecting the local weeds to mass genocide, all while bonding like a group of lifelong friends. And as the comradery flourished amongst us, so did our work ethic. For several in our group, EcoServants acted as their introduction to the working world, so it was quite neat to see young people who had never worked a day in their life prosper so quickly in the life of 40 hour work weeks. Furthermore, EcoServants has a significant impact on you physically. In fact, by swinging the pickmatic and McCleod (signature trail-building tools) hundreds of times and hiking several miles each day, by the end of the summer, your average EcoServant will have yielded incredible stamina and strength gains. Even as someone with a slender build and a weight of only 160, I still managed to drop down to 151 in just 8 weeks. Go figure. Out of all the benefits reaped from EcoServants, perhaps the most important is the self-satisfaction earned from serving your community. Instead of spending the summer working indoors at a fast-food joint, where hard work produces no significant changes other than a few extra bucks in your pocket. I chose to be a part of something larger than myself. 30+ strong, our EcoServants family, under direction of the mystifying Stephen Carter, is beautifying our wonderful surroundings, benefitting tourism, promoting healthy lifestyles through recreational trails, and creating a generation of strong, competent, and reliable workers. So, what did you do with your summer?

I have been an EcoServant for three consecutive summers. I have not had any other job that has instilled the values and the essential workplace skills that I have learned from my time of employment with EcoServants. Waking up every morning to work hard all day building trails or doing other demanding physical labor develops an incredible work ethic and a very healthy outlook. The hardest days I had with this job were always the most humbling. You learn to respect every dollar you make and spend it as wisely as possible. With the assistance of the scholarship rewarded to EcoServants that complete their hours, being able to use that to cover some of your school expenses is a blessing. School is a little less stressful knowing you worked for a lot more than just minimum wage during the summer. It pays off completely. This job teaches you how to work in a team environment and develop critical communication skills that you will carry well into your career and for the rest of your life. The work is not easy, and being able to complete tasks as a team teaches those who were once unable to work with others an important lesson about working smarter and not harder. The job requires on a daily basis that you communicate with others and constantly plan your next task as a team. In today's workplace, it is absolutely critical that you learn how to work with others. This job does not cater to weak links, either. If you are not willing to work, this job will punish you, and so will the supervisors. You are constantly pushed by your team members to perform up to par, and nothing less. This creates incredible discipline and skills you can use to set the standard and earn respect from those you work with and those who you work for. It will not be easy at first, but incredibly worthwhile. All in all, this job will reward you with much more than just a paycheck if you are prepared to work hard.