From Software Engineer to Tour Guide - Rodney Paul Leads the Way!
At BPWA, we have outstanding walk leaders, including Rodney Paul. A former software engineer, Rodney long dreamed of becoming a tour guide. He enjoys public speaking and was inspired by the captivating guides he encountered during his travels.
After completing a training program with SF City Guides, Rodney began developing and leading his own tours. From Oracle Park to Berkeley Paths, he shares his knowledge of fascinating places and topics with participants.
Read our interview with Rodney below, and join him June 11 for the North Berkeley Different walk!
How/why/when did you get involved with BPWA?
I love walking and am a frequent user of the Berkeley paths. Also, I live in Kensington and am very involved in advocacy for the paths we have here. BPWA have been wonderful allies in our efforts to maintain and improve our 10 paths and played a key advisory role in making public ownership of our paths official.
I’m also aware of the wonderful walks BPWA offers, some led by good friends of mine. Although some are longer and more physically demanding than the ones I lead, what I do is similar to the tours led by Bob Johnson, co-author of the wonderful book Berkeley Walks. So I’m very happy my tours are compatible.
How do you go about deciding on the walks and planning them?
My Berkeley walks are all tours I have led for the Berkeley Historical Society & Museum (BHSM), which commissions walking tours each spring and fall to raise funds. I always pick topics that spark my interest, and it’s a lot of fun researching local history and uncovering fun facts. BHSM only has me lead the tour once. But once I’ve put one together, I naturally want to give the tour for others.
BPWA is great at getting out the word and putting together groups of people enthusiastic about the information I present.
Please share a recent walk you have led. What did you highlight?
My “Berkeley, Protest and the 60s” tour speaks to the times we’re living through politically. Understanding the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of 1964 helps us appreciate the threats to freedom of expression today. This was the first major university protest of the 1960s, and it’s important to understand that the movement encompassed students from a diverse range of political viewpoints including the Socialist Alliance and ConservativeStudents for Goldwater as well as the Democrat and Republican campus groups. They were seeking free rights for all students and not just those with whom they agreed. To me, that’s an important lesson for us today.
What motivates you to do them?
I love public speaking and sharing the tidbits of the fascinating local history that I uncover. And even though I give the same tour repeatedly, it’s always my goal to make my tours interactive. I love questions and encourage people to share their perspective when they feel called to do so. As a result, no two tours are exactly the same, and I get to learn a lot from the things people ask about and share.
What is your favorite part of the experience?
Meeting people who share my interest in local history and hearing about their experiences. To me, every group I lead is a short-term community, and I like the idea that we can all learn from one another.
What do you hope people take away from it?
My goal as a walking tour leader and public speaker is to change the people who come on my tour just a little bit. I want to make them a little more aware of places of importance to our local history. You may look at places you may go by frequently a little differently.
On my North Berkeley Different tour, for example, we go by the campus of Saint Mary’s College High School, once the location of a magnificent gothic hotel that looks like something from the pages of Harry Potter. On my North Berkeley Rock Parks walk, we visit 5 parks in the Northbrae area, many with spectacular Golden Gate views, and even long-term Berkeley residents often tell me there are some they’re experiencing for the first time.
Anything else you would like to add?
In addition to the walking tours I offer through BPWA, I take people around Oracle Park for the Giants and have walking tours of the Haight-Ashbury and Salesforce Park for the non-profit SF City Guides. I also have a twice monthly program on Zoom called Art Viewing Adventures that has discussions of local art exhibitions and interviews with artists. All of my events are listed on my website http://rodneysftours.com.