By Dr. David Smith
When I was a kid, my dad would (sometimes) joke, “get a job!” I, thankful of child labor laws, would retort “I am not old enough!” Once I turned 14 that excuse was no longer valid as my dad drove me to the nearby family restaurant to apply for a bus boy job. The reality was, there was no posted job and my “resume” consisted of my volunteer experience in the boy scouts and helping at the school cafeteria. The school cafeteria gig was sweet as I got out of class 5-10 minutes earlier for lunch than my peers, got free lunch and I had first pick of all the tasty things we were serving up. Plus, I made good friends with the lunch workers to my great benefit, a key lesson I continue to benefit from even today.
Yet, the thought of being a bus boy was revolting and most any “job” in that regard just sounded awful. Of course, my dad had good intentions, after all working experience is an important foundation toward developing our careers. I told my dad that I want to get a job doing something I enjoy, something of real interest to me beyond a simple paycheck. Of course, he laughed and he laughed and he laughed, thinking that I will soon get a reality check. Joke’s on him though as the following summer I applied to work at my local amusement park, Elitch Gardens as a ride host and had my first real job ready to go.
As most everybody in my life knows, I love me some amusement parks and roller coasters. This passion goes beyond a simple hobby as I spent a significant amount of my formative years studying and learning everything I could about them. As a solid “C” student, my parents, teachers, coaches and others struggled to get me to engage with school and organized sports, leading all of us to immense frustration to learn and understand the content. Yet my intrinsic curiosity and desire to learn was lost upon them through this “obsession” with those amusement parks and roller coasters. Ironic given the principles of math, science, engineering, social studies, arts, even language that can all be found inside the gates of an amusement park. So of course, my first job was diving face first right into my biggest passion, even if I was barely old enough to do anything. For the next 5 years I worked my up the ladder as it were, from checking heights to operating kiddy rides and eventually getting my hands on those delicious roller coasters and thrill machines.
When I graduated high school, I barely had time to take off my cap and gown before I hopped on a plane to work for the summer at the place of my dreams, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.
During those 5+ summers at Elitch Gardens and Cedar Point, I was living it up. Doing a job, I loved and helping bring fun and joy, creating memorable experiences for the guests who came in through our gates. I found a thrill from seeing a roller coaster train full of riders go out with nervous excitement, hearing them scream, and see them coming back in laughing and applauding what sounded like quite a fun ride. I have so many great memories from those years and stories I continue to share today.
Unfortunately, the summer had set, and it was time to move on. Problem was, I didn’t know what to do or where to go. My dreams and vision fulfilled, I fell into a depression as I became lost within myself and lonely. Many people know my story from this point forward as I eventually found my way back into competitive swimming, a sport I had quit due to homophobic bullying and discrimination before my time at Elitch Gardens. Swimming became my salvation as I found purpose and belonging again, inspiring new dreams, goals, and vision. Especially ironic given my strong distaste for PE and organized sports as a kid, my passion moving forward focused on helping empower confidence and authenticity through sport and exercise. This has been my driving force since then as I have pursued challenge, growth, education, experience, and enjoyment. with tenacity and grit well above and beyond anything anybody ever expected of me. I excelled through college, started my own business, and worked in most every capacity one can work within this field. I have traveled and lived across the world in pursuit of my intrinsic curiosity to learn and experience as much sport and exercise as I can. I have climbed literal and figurative mountains, reaching some of my highest highs. I have run marathons, finished Ironmans, jumped off very tall towers, I even am a multi-time national champion in my sport of swimming. I have published books and research papers. I have done and seen things well above and beyond what might be reasonable for most people. I have also climbed out of some of my lowest lows, even when the light within me had dimmed, it remained lit. Compared to the blank piece of paper I had when I was 14, my resume/CV now at 38 is practically its own book. Yet one thing has remained the same, I seek to do things I enjoy.
To the shock of many, or as my sister wrote in my dissertation “not bad for a kid who tried to get into the special ed classes”, I have achieved my Doctorate degree. Achieving the highest standard of education that is possible within my field of sport and exercise always in pursuit of challenge, growth, education, experience, and enjoyment. Yes, it is now “Dr. David Smith” thank you very much.
So going into my 38th summer, doctorate in hand and the summer off from my teaching obligations. I found myself in a familiar yet unexpected place. I didn’t know what to do or where to go, my dreams and vision fulfilled. The difference being I was happy and relieved given how hard I worked and all the struggles I’ve overcome. It feels good to know that, with all of it said and done, I achieved what I set out to. The light within me was shining brighter than ever and with the world in my hand I asked myself, “now what?”
As of this writing, the long-term answer to that question is still under consideration. The real dilemma came about how I was going to spend my summer? I had gotten so used to filling my days with work and tasks I could do to help me move forward. Now I here I was wondering what to do and where to go. So, I took a lesson from 18-year-old me and I applied for a job operating rides at my local amusement park, Silverwood.
Through all that I have been through, the highest highs and the lowest lows, going through the physical, mental, and social wringer. I have learned a lot of lessons the hard way and often found myself pursuing the more difficult paths than what was necessary. As a result, I am more… seasoned and scarred person at 38 than I was at 18.
As I told my parents, I achieved my doctorate and I am right back to operating rides at the amusement park. They laughed and laughed and laughed, wondering if I had truly lost it. Afterall PhD students have been known to lose their minds. Now celebrating school graduations with amusement parks is an important tradition for me. Afterall, I celebrated high school graduation by working the summer at both Elitch Gardens and Cedar Point. I celebrated my Bachelors with a road trip visit to Cedar Point. I celebrated my Masters with a visit to both Phantasialand and MoviePark Germany. Now that my PhD was done, I had to continue the tradition of course. Starting with my graduation party at Lakeside Amusement Park in Denver and working the summer at Silverwood Theme Park.
The reality was, in the short term over the summer I had nothing to do and my passion for amusement parks and roller coasters has always been there. So why not spend the summer doing what brought me so much joy since the beginning? Getting my hands on those delicious roller coasters and thrill machines, spending my summer outdoors and being active while bringing fun and joy to everybody who came through the gates to our park. My summer days at Silverwood filled with fun banter, loading up trains of nervous riders before sending them plummeting down a drop at 50-65mph and screaming all the way. Creating laughter and fun to help people forget about the stress and drama of the world. I became known for my drive by dad jokes I would crack about the different rides at the park, hyping up guests on the roller coasters, even getting banned from the microphone for all chaotic fun I was creating. Microphone censorship notwithstanding, I have a loud voice and ability to project, as well as the leadership to command a large crowd, and I was having way too much fun.
And now the sun has set on my first summer at Silverwood as I get back to the reality of it all. Reflecting back on the experience I truly found it to be a lot more healing than expected while it also offered much needed time and a place to process everything. Who is “Dr. David Smith”? What am I doing? Where am I going from here? The very questions I contemplated throughout those hot days and nights while bringing the screams to thousands of riders all summer long. Those roller coasters offered me exactly what I needed, a reminder of who I am and where I came from. Grounding myself once again with a new foundation I have spent 38 years building, I needed the perspective. Finding excitement at what comes next as I continue to pursue my passion to empower confidence and authenticity through sport and exercise. My tradition continues as does my fun and exciting roller coaster of a life! Introducing, Dr. David Smith: Rollercoaster Scientist. Arms down, head back, and hold on. Here we go!
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