Staff Interview with Daniel Herman

Get to know VISIONS Service Adventures' staff!

What inspired you to join the team at VISIONS?

I wanted to be a part of an organization that focused on broadening people’s perspectives and teaching through experience. I have always felt most inspired and motivated after traveling, so I wanted to share that with others. I also really like hands on work and Spanish, so I figured it’d be a great fit.

Describe a typical day/week as the Programs Coordinator.

In the off-season (fall, winter, spring), I am in touch with our community contacts and work with them to set up projects and activities for the summer. I also reach out to our VISIONS community - past participants and leaders -  to let them know what we’ll be up to in the summer and to see if they’d like to get involved. We do this through outreach events, social media, and more boring things like emails. During the summer, I act as a resource for our leaders in the field. I also share photos and updates with families during the programs, since our participants do not have their phones onsite.

What qualities do you aim to include in VISIONS programs?

The pillars of our programs are cultural immersion, service work, exploration, and community building. As you can see, we strive to make our programs well-rounded. We intentionally incorporate activities and routines that teach teamwork and camaraderie, and we also incorporate elements of adventure and introspection.

What do you hope participants take away from VISIONS programs?

I hope that participants take away an understanding that the world is an enormous, fascinating place, and that there are endless paths to take in life. I hope that they are empowered to continue exploring the world and learning from a wide variety of people and mindsets. I also hope that they learn how to better communicate and cooperate within a community. In my experience, these are things that participants do indeed take away from our programs.

Why should participants choose VISIONS instead of other providers?

I would recommend VISIONS to anyone that wants to experience what it is like to live completely in the present, as part of a true community. Someone that is interested in working hard on the job, and on themselves.

A VISIONS program can reveal to you what your strengths are and what you have to offer a community.

While many companies can offer you a tour, VISIONS can offer the opportunity to deeply connect with your surroundings and embrace insight, feedback, reflection, and growth. You will get your hands dirty and you will gain grit.

How has your experience working as an environmental educator influenced the work you do now?

I consider this an extension of environmental education. While not as direct as catching frogs and discussing the effects of GHGs, I see this as an alternative approach to environmental education. I believe that it is vital to expose students to new ideas and lifestyles as part of the education process.

As a nation, we are the greatest consumers of resources on the planet, so we can learn a lot from other civilizations. The communities that we live in provide great examples of how to do more with less - how to be resourceful and work with what you’ve got.

Examples include minimizing food waste, feeding scraps to pigs, maximizing public transportation, harvesting materials directly from the surrounding landscape, consuming local agriculture, purchasing less material goods, etc.

Participants and leaders often walk away feeling inspired to be more resourceful and intentional, which is an enormous step forward in environmentalism and in all global issues.

If you could participate on any VISIONS program, which would you choose and why?

This answer changes weekly for me, since I am constantly learning new, fascinating things about each of our locations. At the moment, I would probably choose our Montana Blackfeet program. I am proud that we have worked with the Native American populations for several decades and I think that we, as a country, owe it to the native communities to spend time listening to them and appreciating their heritage. Additionally, northern Montana is home to some of the most dramatic and remote landscape in the country, and there’s nothing like the mountains in the summertime.

Why do you think it is important for individuals to travel and experience new cultures?

Naturally, our brains tend to categorize and generalize people, places, and things. We all do it. See, I just did it. It’s simply easier for our brains to take this shortcut than to remain open to every single possibility. Thus, it’s important to be exposed to a wide variety of what is actually out there in the world.

The more people you meet living in distinct situations, the better you are able to empathize and understand the differences and similarities between us all.

It’s easy to be proud of your team if you’ve never played for a different one, and once you’ve played for multiple teams it becomes less comfortable put down others just because they’re not yours. Once we’re able to drop our pride and appreciate each other’s strengths, we’ll be well on a path to modesty and open-mindedness, which seems like a very positive step.

How do you work to combine meaningful work with exciting adventures?

We are based in extraordinary places where people welcome our support. On weekdays, we head to the worksite for the morning and early afternoon. After putting in several hours of hard work, we get out and explore, in some way, shape, or form.

Since we’re located in such magnificent places, afternoon hikes, coastal swims, or cultural workshops are within reach. On weekends, we make time to visit the more remote and grand landmarks of the region, catching trains, buses, boats, and vans out of town.

What hopes do you have for the future of VISIONS’ programs?

I hope that we can continue to push the limits of conscious travel, and that we focus ever more on sustainability, social justice, and deep community connection between all parties involved. This is a lot to take on, so we’ll be at it for awhile.