Will is a lifelong lover of the outdoors and history. He has always been eager to share his passion with others.
Will first visited a national park in middle school, white-water rafting through what would become the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Later in high school, he had the chance to visit Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on a family camping trip. As an adult, he was traveled with his wife and son to parks and monuments across the country, ranging from Big Bend in Texas to Acadia in Maine.
Will first felt there was a need for more people to understand the history of the national parks while traveling through Utah's Mighty Five. As a history teacher, he wanted to know more about how the parks came to exist. He asked himself the question "Who first saw these places and believed that every American should have the birthright to visit them?" That has been the guiding question across his research, from studying the origins of the National Park Service to the indigenous history of Yellowstone.
In 2021, Will decided to write a book to make the fascinating history of the national parks accessible to as many people as possible. His first book, A Short History of the National Parks: The Southeast, released on National Parks Day in 2023. He is currently working on the second edition in the Short History of the National Parks series. It will cover Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton National Parks.
Will studied history, education, and classics at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He currently teaches seventh grade history at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, where he incorporates the ancient history of Yellowstone and White Sands National Parks into his curriculum.
Will first visited a national park in middle school, white-water rafting through what would become the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. Later in high school, he had the chance to visit Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on a family camping trip. As an adult, he was traveled with his wife and son to parks and monuments across the country, ranging from Big Bend in Texas to Acadia in Maine.
Will first felt there was a need for more people to understand the history of the national parks while traveling through Utah's Mighty Five. As a history teacher, he wanted to know more about how the parks came to exist. He asked himself the question "Who first saw these places and believed that every American should have the birthright to visit them?" That has been the guiding question across his research, from studying the origins of the National Park Service to the indigenous history of Yellowstone.
In 2021, Will decided to write a book to make the fascinating history of the national parks accessible to as many people as possible. His first book, A Short History of the National Parks: The Southeast, released on National Parks Day in 2023. He is currently working on the second edition in the Short History of the National Parks series. It will cover Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton National Parks.
Will studied history, education, and classics at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He currently teaches seventh grade history at Grand Rapids Christian Middle School, where he incorporates the ancient history of Yellowstone and White Sands National Parks into his curriculum.
