We are pleased to announce that Colin Donnelly, a senior high honor student at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, NH, recently received the New Hampshire Partners in Education Student Volunteer of the Year Award. Colin volunteered 91 hours at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center in Hampton Beach during the summers of 2018 and 2019 and hopes to continue to volunteer in the future.
Colin says that his favorite part of volunteering at the Discovery Center is being able to instill curiosity and care for marine life in the Gulf of Maine in the Discovery Center visitors at Hampton Beach. He loves seeing not only children captivated by the observation tanks and excited by the touch tank but their parents and families as well. Hampton Beach has always been a big part of his life, and he thinks that it is cool to be part of something so positive at the beach.
Colin also says that “others should volunteer at the BODC because it teaches you so much about not only the marine life itself but also how humans impact it by using single-use plastic or littering on the beach. Being able to pass what you learn as a volunteer to the beach-goers further deepens this knowledge. As a high schooler, being surrounded by people more experienced in marine biology and environmental studies than me has helped me grow and discover more about what I am passionate about.”
Colin will attend Dartmouth College next year, where he will run on the cross country team and major in Environmental Studies. Congratulations, Colin!
