On Wednesday, April 5, 305 volunteers, guests, educational partners and staff members attended LSC’s 24th Annual Volunteer Recognition Dinner in celebration of the volunteers that make the Science Center such a special place.

The theme of the evening was a country western Roundup and everyone had a hootin’ hollerin’ good time! LSC’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Sasson, kicked off the evening with encouraging remarks followed by guest speakers Sharon Singleton (an educational partner from Bonnie Brae School) and Annika Sharma, a volunteer from LSC’s Summer Teen Docent program.

Sharon’s speech was genuine and heartwarming, but the highlight was when she read a thank you note from a former student expressing how his volunteer experience helped him believe in himself and raise his self-confidence. Annika eloquently spoke to her peers about her wonderful experience volunteering during the summer and how the experience has helped in her school projects and extracurricular activities, and will be something she can proudly put on upcoming college applications.

The awards ceremony concluded with our Volunteer and Intern of the Year awards. Named after the founder of LSC’s volunteer program, the Patrice Connolly Memorial award is awarded to volunteers that go above and beyond the call of duty and generously donate their time to LSC. This year we had 14 nominations so picking just one winner proved tough!

Two Volunteer of the Year awards were given to Elsie Kophca and Suki Zhang. Elsie began volunteering in December 2015 and has donated 342 hours. She is always willing to help in our Live From surgeries, our lab programs, offsite events and during our busiest time of the year this past December, Elsie pitched in and was building faux snowmen for hours on end!

Our second winner, Suki Zhang, may be young but she is wise and mature beyond her years. A senior at McNair High School, Suki started volunteering at LSC in July 2015 and has donated over 600 hours. Suki has received numerous acknowledgements from staff for her wonderful interaction with our guests. She also has attended many off site events with our staff and is always engaging in our exhibits. Most recently, Suki really stood out when she spoke in front of the Jersey City Council in support of LSC’s SciTech City project.

Finally, John Cobbs III received our Intern of the Year award for his work with many special events. He played an instrumental role in the success of our first ever Liberty Cup drone race last July. John is a Mechanical Engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken and has donated 176 hours.

The evening ended with country-inspired food, a photo booth and good old-fashioned games! Volunteers play a pivotal role in the success of LSC and achieving our mission to get learners of all ages excited about the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology, we could not open our doors without them and for that we thank them! If you would like to learn more about volunteering or participating in our Summer Teen Docent program, please visit our volunteer page.