Journey Quest is unique in the fact that our staff is a priority. Staffing with JQ is much more than simply a job, it’s a family, an opportunity to grow, and a place you’ll always call home. In this series of blog posts, I want to give you an inside look into what staffing is all about here at Journey Quest. Current and past staff each have their own unique experiences and memories at JQ.
So, without further ado, Here’s what our first seasonal guide, Daniel, has to say about his time here at Journey Quest:
I became a guide for Journey Quest at a time when I was looking to expand my outdoor experiences and knowledge. The desired to increase my confidence in myself was also a major factor. For my entire teen life, I was the kid who was very unsure about himself and played it safe. In a way that’s good because I saved my parents from having to pay for any medical bills. However, since I had never challenged or pushed myself, I had yet to discover what I was capable of. Journey Quest seemed like the perfect opportunity to try something new with some good friends. I would be able to spend more time outdoors, and see how far I could push myself. But there was one thing that kept holding me back: me.
Along with my low self-confidence was a sense of self-defeatism, at least, that’s what I would call it. Now I never thought of it that way at first, I just thought I was being “chill” or simply accepting of what life threw at me. The river made it rather apparent that this was not an acceptable mindset to have though. I would let the raft hit rocks I could’ve easily avoided and I would fall out when I should’ve grabbed something to stay in. All because I thought,
“well, if this is what life is throwing at me, the best way to deal with it is accept it.”
If I started to drift back into the main current, attempting to catch an eddy, I would just stop trying. And yet, my boss and co-workers were always supportive and encouraging. They did an excellent job at pointing out the flaws while also praising the good. This allowed me the time to push past the barriers I had set up for myself.
Looking back, I think the biggest thing I learned from working at Journey Quest was to never give up, even if I thought it wasn’t going to work. All the training drilled into my head the fact that guests will always look to the guide for confidence and leadership. If I don’t display that confidence or fight to make things happen, I’m not going to be trusted. As a guide you must keep fighting, despite maybe having a poor paddle crew or a bad run down the river. You must shrug it off and keep going. Journey Quest teaches you many things that are specific for rafting, but the things you learn here you can take and apply in so many other aspects of your life. This is a priceless value I don’t think I would have gotten anywhere else.
Thanks to my time as a raft guide, I have exponentially grown in my confidence and my tenacity, not just in rafting but in all areas of my life.
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to grow your knowledge, grow your relationship with Christ, and grow your outdoor skills. Take a leap and apply today for one of the best summers of your life!