Thank you for expressing interest in serving with the College Program at Ghost Ranch Education & Retreat Center. Ghost Ranch is a national Conference Center of the Presbyterian Church (USA), located in a beautiful and spiritual environment rich with the history and culture of the Southwest. Participants in the Ghost Ranch college program will have the opportunity to serve in a variety of different functions at the Ranch while living in a community of intention with peers from around the country. Location and transportation: Ghost Ranch is located near Abiquiu, NM. It is in an isolated area and is about 45 minutes from the nearest city (Española). Due to insurance limitations, individuals under the age of 25 are not permitted to drive Ranch vehicles. They may bring personal vehicles for trips during their free time, but they are encouraged to walk or bike around the Ranch, as driving is a hazard for pedestrians and detracts from the peace of the community. Transportation between the Albuquerque airport and Ghost Ranch will be provided for those flying at the beginning and end of the summer. Dates: The dates of the program last from Sunday, May 31 to Monday, August 10, 2015. The first and last days (May 31 and August 10) will be travel days to and from the Ranch. The first week of the summer is reserved for an extensive orientation. During this time, members of the college program start forming their community, become familiar with Ghost Ranch and its missions and policies, and receive training for individual positions. Age requirements: Candidates must have completed at least their sophomore year of college to apply. Occasionally, mature first year students will also be considered. Individuals are typically considered for one summer. At the invitation of the Program Department Staff, certain individuals may return for additional summer(s) of service in specific leadership roles. Covenant: Members of the college program commit to being substance free (alcohol, drugs, and tobacco) during the summer. We invite members of this college community to enter into this commitment for several reasons. Many members serve in direct youth mentorship roles and all members of this community represent the Ranch. The covenant is meant in part to enable individuals to best serve as role models and representatives to the wider Ranch community. Furthermore, a summer at the Ranch provides a unique opportunity to use the resources of the Southwest to heal and feed the soul, and we find that remaining substance-free more fully enables people to engage in these opportunities. You will be surprised by the ways that you grow and change over the summer if you take advantage of all that the Ranch and the surrounding areas have to offer. Many individuals also find that the covenant provides an opportunity to bond with peers in a substance-free environment that is not always available at their college. We invite you to think of other ways in which you can challenge yourself and/or grow through the covenant this summer. The covenant works best if each community member
takes a personal investment in it. We take this commitment very seriously, and consider it an essential part of building a healthy community for the summer. Please reflect carefully on this requirement when applying for a position. Free time: In their free time, participants in the college program may take advantage of the Ranch s swimming pool, hiking trails, and water sports. The Ranch also provides space to simply relax in the peaceful, rural environment. Daily contemplative and intergenerational worship services are held, including worship with communion on Sunday mornings. In addition, there is time for sightseeing and experiencing the diverse cultures of New Mexico. All members of the program have Sundays off, and several Sunday outings are proposed during the summer. While these trips are optional, they are great opportunities to see local sites and spend time with the community. In previous years, these outings have included visits to Chaco Canyon, Pagosa Springs Mineral Hot Springs, Bandelier National Monument, and the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Other Sunday activities have included bowling, going to baseball games, and visiting the Santa Fe Opera. These trips are mostly or entirely funded through funds from the college program, so participants will typically only need to bring additional spending money if they so wish. Stipend: Room, board and a stipend of $165 per week, subject to change prior to the start of summer 2015. Application Instructions: We will only be accepting applications online at this time. Please visit the following URL to access the online application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cs2015. There is only one application allowed per computer/ip address. You will be able to exit and reenter the survey and have your responses saved. To save the responses on a given page, you must click the save and proceed button at the bottom of each page and proceed to the next page; if you exit a survey in the middle of a page without having pressed save and proceed, any answers you completed on that page you exited will not be saved. You will also be required to submit the names of two individuals to serve as references, who will then be contacted to complete a reference form for you. You will be prompted to submit the two individuals names and contact information at the end of the application. At least one of these individuals should be a professor or work supervisor, preferably one who has known you for at least a year. Application timeline: We will accept applications until February 20, 2015. We will notify applicants if they are accepted for an interview by February 26 and will schedule interviews for the first two weeks of March. Decisions will be announced by April 1, 2015. If you have any questions about the College Program application, please contact Sarah Stringer, Education Manager, at sarahs@ghostranch.org or 505.685.1019.
DESCRIPTIONS In addition to a specific summer assignment, all college program positions will have a oneweek rotation in the Dining Hall performing service for the Dining Hall for three meals a day, such as bussing and cleaning tables, mopping, sweeping, filling water stations around the Ranch, setting up and cleaning up sack lunch preparation stations in the morning and other duties as assigned. This is a required component of the college program. College Program participants will also help during the Monday weekly Ranch check-in times, assisting guests with finding their rooms, checking into their program, registering for activities, and generally welcoming the new group of participants each week. Summer Positions: Cantina Manager: The cantina is the Ghost Ranch snack bar during the summer. It is also a recreational area for youth at the Ranch outside of the Youth Programming hours. The Cantina Manager will be responsible for maintaining the cantina s inventory, selling items, training Youth Programming members who will rotate into the cantina each week, keeping the cantina and social center clean, and planning meaningful programs (movie nights, ping-pong tournaments, arts and crafts, sports, etc) during the cantina hours. The cantina is open Tuesday through Saturday afternoon (1:00-4:30pm) and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings (7:00-10:00pm except Wednesday, 7-8:30pm). Manages cantina inventory (coordinates with Ghost Ranch Retail Manager to select, order and keep track of snack items for the cantina throughout the summer) Trains Youth Programmers who will rotate into the cantina each week to provide support Plans and leads meaningful activities for youth during their time outside of Youth Programming Promotes cantina options and activities to the Ranch community on a regular basis Maintains cleanly cantina kitchen area and recreational area Supervises methods for money collection; manages cantina cash Children s and Youth Program Counselors: We run 9 consecutive weekly programs for youth who are visiting the Ranch with their parents or who are the children of Ghost Ranch staff members. Youth Programming participants range from 2 to 18 years old. We form four age groups of children and youth and meet with them every morning, Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:30am until noon and again in the evening from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Counselors plan meaningful curriculum with appropriate activities, crafts, and games for each day. As part of the curriculum, counselors might take appropriate age groups to the high and low ropes courses, children s room at the library, or to our paleontology and anthropology museums. Each week there will also be a few counselors with our Youth Service Corps groups (middle and senior high youth plus adult chaperones). All youth counselors will also rotate in and out of our Cantina/Snack Bar.
Preference for these positions will be given to applicants who have particular interest, experience and/or vocational plans to work as teachers and youth leaders. Lifeguard certification is also preferred. Special training opportunities will be scheduled for the first week on the Ranch, including lesson planning, developmental education, environmental and cultural resources of the Ranch and the Ranch s religious/philosophical values. Planning and leading meaningful programming for youth ages 3-18 in the mornings and evenings Supervising children on outdoor adventure activities (guided hikes, waterfront activities, high ropes course, etc) Assisting with Youth Service Corps groups when necessary (performing service on and off the Ranch, leading reflections in the evenings) Occasionally participating in campout with older youth on Friday nights (until Saturday morning) Planning and leading an all-ranch youth activity on Saturday evening following the Saturday evening end-of-week show and celebration Cleaning Youth Programming classrooms and play areas on a regular basis Occasionally assisting in the Youth Programming cantina area (for one week at a time) Lifeguards: (certification required in advance) We have two pools that are open for early morning swims, morning lessons for local children, and afternoon and evening recreation for guests. Lifeguards lead swim lessons for members of the local community as well as assisting with waterfront activities (swimming, canoeing, kayaking) at Lake Abiquiu and with Youth Programming pool nights on certain evenings. Leading swim lessons (beginning and advanced) for local youth, Tuesday through Friday mornings Supervising the pool during open swim (afternoons and evenings) for all Ranch guests Maintaining cleanliness of the pool area Assisting Pool Manager with covering the pool, checking pool chlorine levels, etc. Advertising pool hours to the Ranch community Supervising Youth Programming/Youth Service Corps pool nights and canoeing/kayaking trips on the Abiquiu Dam Promoting pool policies and hours to the Ranch and local community Program Technology and Audiovisual Assistant: This person will be involved in assisting the Program Department with its heavy audiovisual/graphic design needs during the summer. This includes maintaining an archive of Ranch photos each week and creating an endof-week slideshow that is presented to guests on the final Saturday of each week and
distributed electronically once guests have left the Ranch. The ideal person for this position will have background with Adobe Creative Suite and be comfortable with both Macs and PCs. Taking pictures throughout the week of all on-ranch activities and compiling photos into a slideshow that is displayed on the final Saturday of each week Distributing and collecting photography releases from Ranch guests Designing and distributing flyers for upcoming lectures, events, and courses at the Ranch and promoting these events at the Ranch and in the local community, in collaboration with the Marketing Department Designing and maintaining Ranch-wide communication zones/bulletin boards and ensuring up-to-date, accurate information is provided for guests Learn about upcoming Ranch events and regular activities to answer questions for guests and help them sign up for specific activities during their visit Assisting with audiovisual needs (projectors, computers, etc) for Ranch courses, all-ranch lectures, concerts, and other events Outdoor Adventures Assistants: (Lifeguard Certification preferred in advance) The Outdoor Adventures assistants will collaborate with the Outdoor Activities Coordinator and Youth Programming Coordinator to lead adventures courses for adults and children, high and low ropes facilitation, hikes, and waterfront activities. Leading Day Pass and Program guests on guided hikes, archery and climbing wall activities Leading Youth Programming and Youth Service Corps participants on Outdoor Adventure activities (high ropes, low ropes, guided hikes, archery, climbing wall) Collaborating with the Outdoor Adventure Coordinator to create new outdoor adventure activities for youth and adult guests Promoting outdoor activities to day guests and program guests and members of local communities Assisting with scheduling of outdoor activities from groups, programs and day Ranch visitors Maintaining the cleanliness of Outdoor Adventure areas (low ropes shed, high ropes area, waterfront shed, etc) Sustainability Assistants and Youth Service Corps assistants: Sustainability/Youth Service Corps assistants assist the Sustainability Coordinator on all of Ghost Ranch s environmental efforts as well as help lead groups of youth in service at the Ranch as part of the Youth Service Corps program. The four main areas pertaining to Sustainability on the Ranch are farming, compost, recycling, and sustainability initiatives. The Youth Service Corps Assistant will also be responsible for directing individual high school students and/or church
youth groups as they perform service projects around the Ranch and in the community. The ideal candidates will have some background in carpentry or sustainability and will be able to lead and assist the service projects around the Ranch and with local organizations; these projects often include building, trail maintenance, and landscaping. Assisting Sustainability Coordinator with gardening and landscaping tasks (weeding, watering, planting, pruning, construction, painting, harvesting, etc) Promoting Sustainability initiatives to Ranch guests and work to independently develop new initiatives, as desired Identifying and leading service projects for youth groups on the Ranch with the help of the Youth Service Corps leader and the Sustainability Coordinator Helping maintain the inventory of Ghost Ranch tools at the farm and in the Youth Service Corps shed Coordinating with Youth Service Corps groups before their arrival and during their time at the Ranch Assisting with Ranch trash, compost and recycling collection Tour Guide: This person will help the Ghost Ranch Tours Coordinator to lead walking history tours and will gain an in-depth knowledge of Ghost Ranch and its history. They will also be involved in greeting customers, helping customers reserve tours, and answering questions that guests have. Developing a script for a Ghost Ranch History tour by studying material, observing other tour guides and performing independent research about Ghost Ranch, Georgia O Keeffe, the geology of the area, flora and fauna Leading the Ghost Ranch history tour for Ranch guests in the morning and afternoon, on demand Assisting Tour Guides with setting up and putting away chairs, signs and materials for the Georgia O Keeffe Landscape tour Signing in guests for tours Promoting tours to day visitors and program guests and answering guests questions about tours Cleaning laminates and creating new laminates as needed Cleaning tour bus as needed Replacing and updating tour badges