Park Ranger Maria Campbell

On your visit to the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, be sure to say hello to Maria Campbell, a hardworking park ranger who has been in the park service for just over four years. Ranger Campbell spent a portion of her life growing up in Beaufort, South Carolina after her father, who served in the Unites States Marines Corps, was stationed there.  In addition to living in Beaufort, she also lived in Pasadena, Maryland and Ridgeland and Hollywood, South Carolina. After graduating from Beaufort High School in 2010, Ranger Campbell attended the University of South Carolina Beaufort where she graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology.

Immediately after college, Maria began to look for jobs and knew that she wanted a career involving nature.  After she applied for two jobs at Hunting Island State Park and didn’t receive either position, she remained persistent and interviewed with the Assistant Manager at Charles Towne Landing for an opening as an Assistant Ranger. Ranger Campbell said “I never thought that I would be a park ranger. It just kind of happened. As I worked here for that first year, I fell in love with the job and the park.” This thought led her to apply for a full time position.

When asked about how she prepared for her current position with state parks she responded, “There is always so much to learn. Receiving the promotion involved learning our point of sale system, daily paperwork such as revenue tracking and even safety officer duties. However, even after transitioning into a full time ranger, I continue to learn and grow. I have taken chainsaw training and assisted on maintenance projects that I would have never done outside of this career.”   

Being a park ranger involves a lot of responsibilities, some of which include conducting monthly inspections on the fire extinguishers, first aid kits and other safety equipment, as well as, training new assistant rangers. Ranger Campbell’s favorite activity is leading the setup and operations for the Race the Landing 5k series held at the park. “I take so much pride in that event, that I even created a Standard Operations Procedure guide on how to make the race run the most efficient,” she said when asked about the event.

Although Ranger Campbell only works at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, she’s also assisted at Edisto Beach, Colleton, Givhans Ferry and Myrtle Beach state parks. “To sum up my job, there is never a dull moment and I would definitely encourage someone to become a park ranger if they didn’t want a job that has the same routine every day,” she said. Ranger Campbell we appreciate all your help and thank you for continuing to serve as a member of the South Carolina State Park Service!