By: Stamati Anagnostou, Discover the Power of Parks Interpretive Ranger
The question comes up often enough, and predictably, when I introduce myself as “Stamati Anagnostou, the interpreter at White Lake State Park.” I thought I would take this opportunity then to offer a personal definition of “interpreter.” Here it goes:
An interpreter is someone like this…
Who sees something like this…
And does something like this:
In their joyous exultations they think, “How can I get away with being excited professionally?” They then come to the conclusion that they can share what they love with other people! So they get to studying:
The Interpreter studies all sorts of topics, from astronomy to mycology to folklore, so that they can be more informed as to how awesome those things are.
Then the Interpreter develops programs to showcase that awesomeness and rides around on their spiffy bicycle to let campers know what’s up:
Then, by some miracle, people actually show up to those programs!
And wouldn’t you know it, they start getting excited about the natural environment too! 
Adults sometimes discover their inner child by asking questions and getting their hands dirty:
And you know, if those adults or children share any of the things they saw, any of the things they got excited about, then they would be interpreters too. So go ahead, pass it on:
