Landscape

Boebel Hall, the university’s main science building, recently underwent a $23.7 million state-funded renovation to improve, expand, and update instructional laboratories, preparation and support space, and undergraduate research space.

Renovated facilities include a Cadaver Lab, Microbiology Lab, Molecular and Biotechnology Lab, Freshwater Lab, and Environmental Science Lab. The stunning design incorporates representations of the Driftless Area throughout, including the use of limestone and sandstone in the atrium and wood highlights throughout the building.

Alumnus follows professional path to Zion National Park

Featuring scenic views of high plateaus, sandstone canyons, and the Virgin River, Zion National Park—nestled in southwest Utah—may be a popular tourist destination, but for alumnus Philip Schulz, it’s his backyard.

Schulz graduated from UW-Platteville in 2016 with a degree in geography and started working at Zion as a wilderness ranger. In April 2021, he took a new role as a Law Enforcement Park Ranger. He describes his current position as, “protecting the park from the people, the people from the park, and the people from the people.” Schulz also serves as an EMT and search and rescue personnel.

“It’s pretty cool to help protect this place I’ve come to think of as home,” he said. “My favorite part of being a wilderness ranger was getting to go out into the park for work—be it hiking, canyoneering, or backpacking. I got to experience things some people may only get to do once in their lives, and it was very special to do that.”

Schulz credits a particular experience at UW-Platteville in guiding him to his passion.

“Ultimately, it was failing engineering that definitely got me to where I am now,” he said. “I tried biting off way more than I could chew, and it was the final straw of several rough semesters and interviews with professional engineers that helped me realize I was not meant to be an engineer.”

That key moment led Schulz to the department of geography. Schulz highlights two class trips that shifted his career trajectory: Professor Emeritus of Social Sciences Dr. Richard Waugh’s Geography of the Western U.S. and Geography of the National Parks field trips. Schulz acknowledges how those hands-on opportunities of exploring national parks and talking with park rangers sparked his new interest.

“I met some pretty awesome professors,” he

PHILIP SCHULZ

’16 works at Zion National Park in Utah as a Law Enforcement Park Ranger.

said. “Through the various geography courses, I realized this was the stuff I was suited for and then it was a matter of getting into the National Park Service.”

According to the Zion National Park website, the park is 232 square miles full of diverse ecosystems and geologic formations created over 250 million years. In 2019, the park had more than four million visitors. When visiting, Schulz hopes people will research the park, be mindful of picking up their trash, and take in the natural beauty.

“Zion is consistently one of the top five most visited national parks; we’re really busy. Planning ahead will make your trip far more enjoyable,” he said. “Take a deep breath and take the park in once you’re here. I can’t count how many people I’ve seen on the side of the road taking pictures. Those same people then get in their car or start to leave right after without taking a minute to look out and take in and appreciate what they’ve just taken a picture of.”

From the days of being a student to now living out his professional dream, Schulz is always grateful to be a Pioneer.

“I’m very thankful for my UW-Platteville experience. I had some great professors along the way, both in engineering and geography, and made some lifelong friends,” he said. “I really like my job—you get folks who come back from their backpacking trip you helped plan and they tell you all the great things they got to see and do. You help get someone who broke their ankle while hiking the narrows back to the trailhead and get them medical help, and they’re telling you how grateful and relieved they are. Or, most commonly, you’re sitting in your backyard [many of us live inside the park] when you see the sunset and it’s hard not to just smile and think about how my job is so amazing.”