A Fork in the Path: A Career in Nature with Jordan Lake Superintendent Shederick Mole
By Karl Galloway
Recently, we sat down with Jordan Lake State Park Superintendent Shederick Mole, to learn about his career in parks and nature. Superintendent Mole was born and raised in Cocoa, Florida. After graduating high school, he attended Concord College (now known as Concord University) in Athens, West Virginia. When he began his university career he was unsure what his path would be, a familiar problem for most young people. Being from Florida, he considered pursuing a career in hotel and motel management, a sensible direction that he knew was viable. That changed however, when he took an elective titled “Outdoor Recreation.” Mole expected an easy grade out of the class, but came away with an appreciation for the field, driven by his professor Jim Phillips, then the naturalist for Pipestem State Park in West Virginia. As part of the class, Mole visited several different West Virginia parks, wrote business plans, and learned the “ins and outs” of managing a park. He enjoyed the work, and little by little a career began to make itself clear. He decided to major in Parks and Recreation.
After graduation, Jim Phillips hired him as a summer naturalist at Pipestem, where he worked as an interpretive educator, designing and presenting programs to the general public. Mole stuck with it, and after two seasons he was hired as Park Ranger III at Kerr Lake State Recreation Area, specifically Bullocksville Park. In 2004, he was promoted to Park Superintendent II at Jones Lake State Park and in 2008, he was promoted to Park Superintendent IV at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, where he currently works. During our interview, he chuckled, reflecting on that university elective, and the “whim” that ultimately drove him to build a career in parks.
His current work is more focused on administration, a little different from his outreach work as a ranger at Kerr Lake, and the educational programming as a naturalist. When he considers what makes him proud in his career, the opportunity to support natural resources is his immediate response. “Working with nature and the environment has been a joy for me.” Besides being an advocate for public lands, helping Fish and Wildlife set up artificial Red-cockaded Woodpecker nests at Jones Lake is a particularly fond memory.
Given his warm nature, it’s not hard to imagine that Mole is good with kids; he confirmed this describing his joy at working with youngsters in the educational “soil and water days” at Kerr Lake. He hopes that more folks will enter the parks workforce and for those who might be seeking a career like his, he recommends seeking work within a city, county or state park. Once there, he counsels a focus on natural resource opportunities, interpretive education, park operations, and volunteer possibilities. Cleaning trails, facilities, and removing invasive species are all valuable facets of a career in parks.
Above all, Superintendent Mole advocates enjoying nature fully and responsibly. For those who are planning a weekend trip to Jordan Lake, he suggests Shelter 1, the boat ramp, and Ebenezer Church Trail, where the panoramic views of the lake at sunrise and sunset are stunning. Plan a visit and get out there!
