For many students, summer is a time of freedom, a chance to explore and engage in your interests and hobbies, or just veg out on the couch binging on Netflix. For Tyler Keller, Caroline Butler and John Rauchut, the summer of 2015 was one that they will never forget.
Tyler Keller, Hersheypark performer
Tyler Keller, of Hampstead, had a summer full of Shania Twain, Tina Turner and showtunes. Keller spent the summer months at Hersheypark as a part of their "Rollin' Down the River" show, in which six singers and dancers performed country music on a mock steamboat ride. Keller said he performed the half-hour show five times a day, six days a week for the entire summer. This meant Keller performed the same songs, dances and jokes more than 400 times during his employment.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't get tired of it sometimes," Keller said. "Our show was outside, so that part can get a little monotonous. But to be completely honest, I haven't really regretted a single minute of my time at Hershey. I couldn't have asked for a better summer job."
Keller graduated in May from Coastal Carolina University with a degree in musical theater. He will perform at the park through the first week of September, at which point he is planning on moving to New York City to look for further theatrical opportunities.
Keller began performing at age 10, doing shows at Hereford High School. When he entered high school at North Carroll, he began performing with the school's annual drama productions. This love of drama would take him to his freshman year at Coastal Carolina, where he began studying musical theater. He said the performances at Hersheypark have been unlike anything he's experienced.
"At Hersheypark, we have these super-fans that come to our shows. We had one who would come to the show almost every other day," Keller said. "He had a season pass to come as often as he wanted. He plays one of the games at the arcade and has been winning these big stuffed lemurs. He won a stuffed lemur for every one of the girl performers, and for the guys, he bought us a big bag of chocolate. It was a little weird, but nice."
Keller said the job wasn't solely country music dancing and singing. On his day off, or after work, he said he was able to tour the park and enjoy rides along with friends. He said he's always been a fan of theme parks.
The Rollin' Down the River Show featured the six performers singing the songs of Kentucky, Tennessee and the Bayou. Keller said his favorite number to perform was the song "Muddy Water" from the Broadway musical "Big River."
"At the end we hit this high note, and the audience claps and we get a couple of whistles," Keller said. "There's one thing that is true, and it's that audience response and applause never gets old."
Caroline Butler, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge intern
For Caroline Butler, of Middleburg, summer vacation was an opportunity to build her resume, while engaging in something she's passionate about. Butler spent the summer interning at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, aiding the organization in everything from managing student programs to monitoring sea turtle nesting.
Butler, a sophomore biology major at Salisbury University, said the opportunity was the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.
"When I was 12 years old, I got a Chincoteague pony. I grew up on a 93-acre farm in Middleburg and this pony became my best friend," Butler said. "I knew then I wanted to learn more about the island."
Butler said her passion for wildlife was stoked by her visits to Chincoteague, with the variety of environments and species there sparking a love of biology. When she discovered the internship opportunity, she said, she would stop at nothing to get it.
"When I applied, they told me that I was a freshman, which is very rare to make the internship, and it's a very popular program," Butler said. "I got the call in January and then I came here. It's an absolute dream come true."
Butler had the opportunity to lead school groups, work on programs with bald eagles, meet the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and work with the 90th annual pony penning. Even with the wide variety of activities, the most important thing, she said, was spreading a love of nature to the next generation.
"One day when I was working the desk, these twin girls came in, and I told them when they came back I'd give them nature badges," Butler said. "When they came back, I asked 'Are you ladies ready for your badges?' and they were so excited they began running around and showing everybody. Doing all of this work means nothing if we can't make people care about it."
John Rauchut, lifeguard
When John Rauchut, a McDaniel College senior from Warminster, Pennsylvania, began his summer job at Wildwood, New Jersey, he expected to get a tan, have some fun and make a little extra money, he said. He didn't expect to come back a hero.
While working as a lifeguard at a Wildwood beach in July, Rauchut was notified that a family of four was in distress in the ocean. The lifeguard team pulled the family from the water, with two remaining conscious, one semiconscious and one member of the family not showing any signs of life. Rauchut leapt into action and began administering CPR. Soon the man began coughing up water.
"Our beach patrol goes over CPR every morning," Rauchut said. "It was good to be prepared for something like that. The adrenaline just kicked in. In those moments you just do what you were taught to do."
On Aug. 26, Rauchut was given a certificate from the City of Wildwood, honoring his service.
The rescue happened during Rauchut's third summer of lifeguarding. He said his twin brother has served as a lifeguard for six years and inspired him to take on the job. He said his family is extraordinarily proud of him.
"I play college basketball [at McDaniel], so I got a later start," Rauchut said. "But I had been planning on doing it for a while. It's a great way to stay in shape and help people."
Rauchut hasn't seen the man since the incident and said he believes they were vacationing in the U.S. when the near-drowning occurred. During his three years lifeguarding, Rauchut said, this was the first time anything this serious has happened on his watch.
"It's very rare for something like this to happen," Rauchut said. "The whole team responded so well. We're a really close beach patrol. It's not only myself. We all helped that day. This is something I'll never forget."
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