Holyoke resident seeks support for educational trip to Costa Rica

Date: 8/21/2014

HOLYOKE Listeners of WMAS will know that Holyoke resident Robyn Lee is an on-air personality, but they may not know of her love of science.

Lee is undertaking a fundraising campaign to allow her to accompany about 20 students from Gateway Regional High School on a teaching trip to Costa Rica through the EcoTeach program in April 2015.

Currently Lee has a page at www.GoFundMe.com (http://www.gofundme.com/cvgw1g) on which she is hoping to raise $2,800 to pay for her way for the trip.

Lee explained to Reminder Publications that she is a University of Massachusetts graduate who studied molecular biology and biochemistry and whose work was published in "The Journal of Neuroscience."

She joined WMAS in 2011 as an on-air personality who is also involved in the promotion of the station.

Lee is also known from her role as the on-court announcer for the Springfield Armor.

She said the students would be involved in learning about efforts to help preserve sea turtles as well as coastline and mangrove swamp conservation during the nine-day trip.

Lee wrote on her GoFundMe page, "We will stay with local families for part of the trip and volunteer at a coffee co-op and assimilate to the culture for about eight days. I know how hard everyone works for their dollar and I would absolutely be blessed if you would trust me to use it to make a small difference in our world and protect the wildlife of our precious ecosystems, while teaching a group of students from Western Mass. some valuable life lessons."

She was introduced to the Gateway students during a six-month assignment at the high school filling in for a science teacher.

Her enthusiasm is apparent for the trip and when asked if she was looking forward to it, she replied. "Just a tad. Could you tell?"

The trip would have educational benefits for not just the students but her as well.

"I'm definitely looking forward to being a well-versed person," she said.

Her deadline for the GoFundMe campaign is the end of this month.