Courtney Bringhurst
Name: Courtney Bringhurst
Age: 27
Current City/State: Salt Lake City, UT
Hometown: Shippensburg, PA
Education: Recreation Management/Landscape Architecture at Utah State University
Trail Represented: Old Spanish National Historic Trail
Federal Agency/Nonprofit Employer: Bureau of Land Management
Internship Title: Old Spanish Trail Recreation and Management Strategy Intern
Scope of Internship: Develop management strategy plans for the OST.
Favorite Moment/Biggest Achievement of Internship: I finished the first draft of a Recreation and Management Strategy plan for the Old Spanish Trail running through Mesa and Delta Counties in Colorado, and presented to the public and our partners on July 10th.
Future Career Aspirations: I have a wide variety of interests. I have an undergraduate degree in recreation management and a master’s degree in landscape architecture. My true and heartfelt career aspirations is to work at a job that uses those passions and talents that I’ve acquired in both of those degrees, and allows me to be in the field at least 40 percent of my time. I don’t know what that job title is, but potentially a position in a design firm designing trails, or a position in a trail association that allows me to identify locations where new trails should be put in, create management plans for current trails, and organize and oversee trail crews that are working on trails.
How has the internship prepared you for the future: Well, in these last few months I have had the opportunity to develop plans for the Old Spanish Trail that will hopefully increase the connectivity, interpretation, and usage. I’m learning how to interact with many user groups and partners, which is a very important skill when it comes to trail management and design.
