2010 STAR Award College Volunteer: Angelia Lane

Photo by Kalamazoo Gazette

Courtesy of the Kalamazoo Gazette

Between her full-time studies at Michigan State University and a summer job as a camp counselor at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, Angelia Lane somehow managed to fit in about 260 hours of volunteer work last year.

The 19-year-old Comstock High School graduate logged 200 volunteer hours at the nature center, in addition to her camp job there, and another 60 hours at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. The efforts won her a local STAR Award this year in the category of College Volunteer.

Lane said her school, camp and volunteer commitments leave her little free time, but she’s not complaining.

“My work as a camp counselor and educator at the nature center was something I loved doing, so it didn’t feel so much like work in the way a lot of people may think of work,” Lane said.

A sophomore at the East Lansing university, Lane hopes to earn a degree in fisheries and wildlife, an area that complements her adoration for birding and the outdoors. She said it was the closest program to environmental education that the school offers.

This summer she will return to the nature center and serve again as a camp counselor, a job that frequently requires a 60-hour work week.

Jennifer Metz, experiential education director at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, nominated Lane for the STAR Award. The STAR Awards program – honoring people and groups for Sharing Time and Resources – is sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Greater Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Gazette.

In her nomination form, Metz noted that she was impressed by Lane’s commitment to excellence, her willingness to learn new skills and her passion for teaching people about nature.

Metz said Lane’s help with the nature center’s “Birds of Prey” program and its summer-camp series was crucial.

“She enabled us to provide an awe-inspiring experience to our visitors, which often leads to a deeper involvement in our organization,” Metz stated in Lane’s nomination form.

Metz noted that Lane’s devotion to the raptors opened the door to further work at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary. It was there, Metz said, that Lane spent her free time caring for and feeding the sanctuary’s birds.

Lane, meanwhile, concedes that what she does as a volunteer at both facilities is often hard work and time-consuming, but she talks about her duties with a fervor that’s difficult not to notice.

“I’ve always loved birding. I know performing the health checks is important, and teaching people to respect nature and the environment is something I’ve been doing long before I got involved with the nature center,” Lane said. “I don’t know where this field will take me after I’m finished with school in a couple of years, but I’m excited to find out.”