Student Conservation Association Reviews

A toxic organizational culture, starting with the senior leadership team and percolating down through the organization. CEO has surrounded herself with ineffective leadership team who are loyal to her but not to the organization. There is an environment of distrust and fear that ironically comes from the person in charge of HR whose job it is to create the opposite effect. I have never seen a more fear-driven culture in any nonprofit.

Miscommunication from the organization to the parks they help. I arrived to my remote job to find out it was much less accessible than I was told by both the SCA and the park. I was told day one my position would not lead me to an actual job, and immediately was treated like I was expendable and almost worthless because my position was only 3 months. My adviser told me I shouldn't have even driven my car to the site because of the road conditions (after I had asked multiple times if my make and model would be suffice before I took the position.) I ended up having to leave early because of the job troubles, total lack of communication, and what I found to be unsafe work ethics. Months later I still owe the SCA money because I withdrew early. I got paid $85 a week to live in total isolation to "kickstart my career" and somehow I owe them money. It's a corrupt system when you are forced to volunteer just to even be worthy enough of a seasonal job that makes what should be the federal minimum wage.