The best thing about this summer was all of the hiking that I got to do.

Mt. Rainier is a beautiful park, and it was cool to be able to hike around so much of it.

Every waterfall, every peak, every lookout was amazing. I also loved getting to know my team. Learning to meet people where they are and be intentional in loving everyone was something I grew in over the course of the summer.

It’s really easy to gravitate toward people that were similar, but it can be so rewarding and you can have some beautiful moments when you take the time to connect with someone you might not click with right away.

Joseph N., Mount Rainier National Park, 2014