Please feel free to email (pmorris@greenwichcsd.org) articles, significant accomplishments or activities of any GCS grads attending college. Examples include Dean’s List, graduations, college theater, sports, government, etc. Every month, a new group of submitted materials will be published on the page below (September through June). Materials will be published as presented.

Fall 2011

Collin McCormick ('10) was a sophomore linebacker on the Hudson Valley Community College football team. During the 2011 season, he made 8 solo tackles and assisted on 11 others to total 19 tackles. He intends to transfer and play football at the State University of New York at Cortland next year.

Kyle Rodd ('11) was a freshman goalkeeper for the SUNY Adirondack soccer team. He stopped 73 of 86 shots on goal, helping the Timberwolves to a 7-5-2 record.

Bridgett Dusha ('08) completed her four-year career in the goal for the Castleton State field hockey team. This season, Bridgett helped lead the Spartans to an undefeated, regular season conference record and title in the North Atlantic Conference.  Bridgett started all 20 games in the goal and boosted her career total in saves to 241 with 138 saves this season. 

 
Brittney Lane ('09) had a breakout season on the cross-country team at Sacred Heart University. Brittney won the Fairfield University Invitational race and was named Northeast Conference Athlete of the Week.  In the Northeast Conference Championship, Brittney led her Pioneer teammates to a second-place finish and was the 4th overall runner across the line. She has been named to the 1st team All-Conference.

Betsy Edinger ('11), a freshman at Bucknell University, placed 15th in the Patriot League Cross-Country Championship race, helping the Bisons capture 2nd place.

Emily Fung ('08), a junior on the SUNY Albany cross-country team, placed 15th at the Monmouth Classic, helping the Great Danes dominate the meet.

Cady Kuzmich ('11), a freshman on the SUNY Oneonta cross-country team, was the 5th Red Dragon to finish at the State University of New York Athletic Conference Championship race, helping Oneonta to a 4th place finish.

Roxanne Henningson ('10), a sophomore at the University of Richmond, was the third Spider to finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Cross-country Meet. Roxy also helped carry Richmond to a 4th place finish at the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship. You can watch Roxy interviewed at the Alumi race at 1:45 of this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfPQFVVLRuI

Rachel Cerrone ('10) competed on the Bridgewater College (VA)  cross-country team, which won its first ever Old Dominion Athletic Conference title

Caitlin Lane ('08), a senior at Penn State University, won the Big Ten Conference Championship race by a resounding 14 seconds and has been named Big Ten Cross-Country Athlete of the Year.See Caitlin interviewed following her Big Ten Championship victory here:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8J3L2fMv10

On Monday, 11/21 Caitlin placed 16th in the NCAA Division I Championship Race, in Terre Haute, Indiana. By virtue of her top flight finish, she was named to the NCAA All-American team. Congratulations Caitlin!

Spring 2011

Emily Fung ('07) helped the SUNY Albany women's track team to a third straight East Conference Outdoor Track Championship. Emily's best performance of the season was at the Raleigh Relays (Raleigh N.C.). in March. Emily ran the 10k (6.2 mile) race in 37:03.74 .

Neil Fryer’s ('10) earned run average of 1.47 in 19 appearances  was the best on Siena College's pitching staff. Siena reached the Championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).

Caitlin Lane ('08) continued with her versatile contributions to the Penn State outdoor track team. The All-American ran a 2:07 split in the Penn Relays Championship of America 4x800M race, in which the Nittany Lions placed 7th. At the Stanford Invitational, Lane ran the 5k race in 16:18, a personal best.  

Chelsea Borbolla ('07) finished her track and field career at Iona, placing 6^th in the 800M (2:18.43) at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC ) Championships

Brittney Lane ('10) had a fine season in the middle distance events at Sacred Heart University. Her top 5k performance was only 2 seconds shy of qualifying for the USA Track and Field Junior Nationals.

Roxanne Henningson ('10), a runner on the University of Richmond track team ran the 3000M race at the Fred Hardy Invitational in 10:33.69.

Lucas Roods ('08) was a member of the Clarkson University Crew team.

Winter 2010-11

Glory Days-  Chelsea Borbolla ('07), right and Emily Fung ('07) recently met at a college indoor track meet at the Armory, in New York City. In the Hall of Fame, they point to the plaque honoring the national indoor 4x1500M relay record they set at GCS, with Caitlin and Brittney Lane. All four are NCAA DI runners today- Borbolla at Iona, Fung at SUNY Albany, Caitlin Lane ('07) at Penn State and Brittney Lane ('10) at Sacred Heart.

2/19/11 -Running for SUNY Albany, Emily Fung ('07), placed 8th in the America East Conference Championship 5000M in a time of 18:12.2. The meet was held at Boston University.

2/20/11- Luke Roods ('08) ,of Clarkson University, won his heat against 23 other rowers in the row2k at the CRASH-B Sprints World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston. His time was 6.53 minutes.

1/18/11- Caitlin Lane ('07) was named Penn State Nittany Lion of the Week after winning the indoor track 1000M race and breaking the Penn State school record at the Nittany Lion Challenge. Caitlin's time was 2:45.95 and second place finisher, Kim Standridge, of Cornell, broke the Ivy League record with a time of  2:46.48.
 

Chelsea Borbolla ('07) of Iona College placed 7th in the 800M race at the Princeton Relays indoor track meet on 1/22/11.

 http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46923&SPID=4279&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=205081523

1/12/11 Brittney Lane ('10) of Sacred Heart University was honored by the Northeast Conference for her second place finish in the 3000M race at West Point's Carleton Crowell Indoor Track Invitational. Brittney's time of 10:32.25 was the second best in the conference this year. On 1/20, Brittney improved her time in the event to 10:25.28 eight days later at the Boston University Tri Meet. http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/sports/w-track/2010-11/releases/201101124d9tii

Tim Morris ('07), a senior captain and four-year starter on the Mount Saint Mary College basketball team, scored 16 points and collected 8 rebounds in the Mount's 63-50 win against Sage College. MSMC is 9-2 in the Skyline Conference and is battling for a Conference title and NCAA DIII tournament bid. http://www.msmcknights.com/news/2011/1/13/MBB_0113112828.aspx

Fall 2010

Lindsay Borbolla ('09), a sophomore midfielder, is second in total pointson on varsity soccer team at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. MCLA is 9-2-3 and has not lost in its last ten starts. 

http://athletics.mcla.edu/sports/wsoc/index
 

Chelsea Borbolla ('07) is running on the Iona College cross-country team. She recently finished 5th among Iona runners at the New York Metropolitan Championship at Van Cortlandt Park, in Bronx, NY. The Gaels bested nine other schools in the race, including all Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rivals.
http://www.icgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=64277&SPID=7093&DB_OEM_ID=14900&ATCLID=205009199

Samantha Boyce ('09) is a member of the Hartwick College tennis team. She is attending Hartwick on an academic scholarship.


http://www.hartwick.edu/x30590.xml
 

Rachel Cerrone ('10) is a member of the Bridgewater College (VA) cross country team. Bridgewater recently won the Hood College (MD) Invitational and Rachel finished 6th among Bridgewater runners in the ten-team race.

http://bridgewatereagles.com/sports/wxc/2010-11/files/Hood_College_Inv_Women_Results_2010.htm

Emily Fung ('08) is a member of the SUNY Albany cross-country team. In the recent UAlbany Invitational, Emily contributed to the Great Danes setting a school record for the fastest average time among its top five runners. The women broke their own record, set a week earlier at the Louisville Classic.
http://www.ualbanysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=70243&SPID=7993&DB_OEM_ID=15800&ATCLID=205013347

Logan Haynes ('09) is a member of the SUNY Adirondack soccer team. Logan ranked as high as14th among DIII National Junior College Athletic Association goalies. He made 123 saves out of 143 shots on goal and allowed less than 1 goal per game. SUNY Adirondack had its second best season in the last ten years.
http://www.sunyacc.edu/student_life/athletics_and_recreation/soccer_mens.html








 

Roxanne Henningson ('10) is a member of the University of Richmond (VA) cross country team. At the Indiana State Pre Nationals, the Spiders beat two of the Nation's top 30 teams. Roxy was the 7th runner for Richmond.

http://www.richmondspiders.com/sports/c-xc/recaps/101610aab.html

Brittney Lane ('10) is a member of the Sacred Heart University cross-country team. At the recent UAlbany Invitational, Brittney finished 2nd among SHU runners and 24th among 177 runners in the championship race.
http://www.sacredheartpioneers.com/sports/w-xc/2010-11/releases/20101016dign0w

Caitlin Lane ('07) Caitlin Lane was named the Big Ten Runner of the Week for the third time in her career, following her victory at the Dolan Duals at Lock Haven University (PA). Caitlin placed a close second among teammates as the Penn State women's cross country team placed third at the Penn State Nationals Meet, in State College, PA.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/c-xc/spec-rel/090710aab.html
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/c-xc/spec-rel/101610aaa.html

Kelly Jo Merecki ('09) is a member of the SUNY Adirondack tennis team. Kelly and her Timber Wolf teammates have qualified for the Regional Tournament each of the last two years.

http://www.sunyacc.edu/student_life/athletics_and_recreation/tennis_womens/roster.html

Klara Varosy ('06) is a member of the Pratt Institute cross country team. She recently placed 6th in a field of 82 at the Brooklyn College Invitational and was named to the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the week of October 9th. http://www.brooklyncollegeathletics.com/documents/2010/10/10/2010_Brooklyn_College_Invitational_Women_s_Results.doc?id=21

http://www.hvwac.net/media/2010/10/HVWAC-Cross-Country-Report-2010-10-19.pdf

Spring 2010

On May 1st, Chelsea Borbolla ('07) ran on the Iona College 4x800M team that won gold medals at the 2010 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships, at Rider University, in Lawreneville, NJ. The meet took place on May 1st and Iona's winning time was 9:19.3 seconds. In the individual MACC Championship 800M, Chelsea finished 7th in 2:19.75.                 
 

Penn State star Caitlin Lane ('07) ran a career best 4:20.4 in the 1500M at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University on May 1st. Twenty runners from the Eastern half of the United States will qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships and Caitlin presently ranks 10th in the 1500M. Watch Caitlin's race from Stanford University here (she places 4th in an elite, national class field of 12):

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236854/331032
 

Trever Sipperly ('06). a midfielder for the University of Notre Dame lacrosse team won 13 of his 15 faceoff attempts against Providence on April 17 ... that marked a personal-best single-game winning percentage (.867) for the senior ... he ranks 10th nationally this season with a .582 winning percentage (138-99) ... last season, Sipperly ranked 13th nationally with a .559 percentage (85-67).


 

Derek Sipperly ('07) is a midfielder for the United States Military Academy's lacrosse team. In a 13-10 victory over Holy Cross, Derek won a career high 12 of 21 faceoffs. His photo was featured in the 4/27/10 edition of the national collegiate website Inside Lacrosse.  See the photo here. Army is 6-0 in the Patriot League, for the first time ever and is ranked #20 in NCAA Division I lacrosse.

Madeline Skellie ('08), was named April 5th Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Week for the University of Rochester's softball team. Madeline, a pitcher, was 2-0 in two starts that week, beating St. John Fisher and RIT. In 12.2 innings, she allowed 13 hits, five runs (four earned), walked three, and struck out five. She gave up just two extra-base hits (a pair of doubles).

http://www.rochester.edu/athletics/softball/roster.php

Winter 2009-2010

Keith Pendergrass ('06,) a member of the Amherst College indoor track and field team, ran a personal record 52.21 400M race at the 2010 Boston University Valentine Invitational.

Amherst College placed 4th out of 20 teams at the NCAA DIII New England Championships

Trever Sipperly (' 06) has been named a pre-season Honorable Mention All-American for the University of Notre Dame's lacrosse team.
( http://www.und.com/sports/m-lacros/spec-rel/120109aaa.html )
Trever played in all 16 games in 2009 and won 56 percent (85-67) of his faceoff attempts. He picked up a career-high 27 ground balls and tallied the first point of his career with an assist in helping the Irish to a 16-7 win over Ohio State in the title game of the GWLL Tournament. In 2009, Notre Dame finished with a 15-1 mark, which established program records for wins and winning percentage (.938) for a single season. The Irish posted the first undefeated regular season in team history and captured their second consecutive GWLL tournament title in addition to making their fourth straight NCAA Championship appearance.

Tim Morris (' 07) was named to the Skyline Conference Honor Roll for the Week ending on January 16th. In games against SUNY Maritime, Polytechnic Institute of New York University and SUNY Farmingdale, Tim averaged 15 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, shooting 60% from the field.
(http://www.skylineconference.org/documents/2010/1/18/sky_mbb_01181076.pdf?id=903)

He was named a Mount Saint Mary College Athlete of the Week for the same time period. (http://www.msmcblueknights.com/awards.aspx?aow=102)

Caitlin Lane (' 07) won the Northeast Challenge Mile race on January 16th, at Penn State, in 4:52.44. Her best indoor mile time for the Nittany Lions is 4:49.74.

Penn State won the Big Ten Conference in Cross Country and Caitlin ran second among teammates at the NCAA Championship, in which PSU placed 14th. Caitlin was named "Most Improved" at the team's sports banquet.

Chelsea Borbolla (' 07) is running on the indoor track team at Iona College.
In the Fordham Season Opener, Chelsea ran the 400M Dash.

Fall 2009

Lucas Roods (GCS 2008) is a sophomore member of the Clarkson University Cross Country team. He has also been rowing, in the mornings, with the club crew team.

http://www.clarksonathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2242&path=ccountry

Trent McCaskill (GCS 2006) is a senior at the University of New Haven, majoring in forensic science. He is a member of the varsity soccer team (NCAA Division II) and is returning to play following a season-ending injury last year.

http://www.newhaven.edu/athletics/teams/msoccer/roster/profiles/McCaskill,Trent/

Will Cutie (GCS 2009) is a freshman member of the soccer team at Fulton Montgomery Community College.

http://fmcc.suny.edu/index.php/Athletics/Profile/willie_cutie/

Zack Jennings (GCS 2009) is a freshman member of the soccer team at Fulton Montgomery College.

http://fmcc.suny.edu/index.php/Athletics/Profile/zachary_jennings/
 

Kyle Seabury (GCS 2008) is sophomore at Hartwick College and enters his second season as an inside linebacker on the varsity football team.

http://www.hartwick.edu/x27951.xml

Chelsea Borbolla (GCS 2007) is a junior at Iona College and is a member of the cross country team.

 http://www.icgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=64276&SPID=7093&DB_OEM_ID=14900&ATCLID=1208744&Q_SEASON=2009

Lindsay Borbolla (GCS 2009) is a freshman member of the soccer team at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Lindsay scored two goals in a 3-0 victory over Elms College.
http://athletics.mcla.edu/sports/wsoc/2009-10/news/Elms

http://www.icgaels.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=64276&SPID=7093&DB_OEM_ID=14900&ATCLID=1208744&Q_SEASON=2009

Penn State sophomore Caitlin Lane (GCS 2007) was recently named Big Ten Runner of the Week for the second time in her career, after leading the Nittany Lions cross-country team to a sweep at the Lock Haven Invitational. Lane improved upon her winning time of last year by nearly 50 seconds.on the 4 kilometer course.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/c-xc/spec-rel/090809aaa.html

Spring 2009

Penn State track and field star Caitlin Lane (GCS '08) won the 1500M race
in a personal best time of 4:26.38 at the War Eagle Invitational at Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama. http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/c-track/recaps/041809aab.html

Trever Sipperly (GCS '06) is on the lacrosse team at the University of Notre Dame. In a 19-7  home-opening win over Dartmouth University, Trevor won 13 of 17 faceoffs. Notre Dame is presently ranked #7 in the NCAA DI Coaches' poll. http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-lacros/recaps/022809aab.html

Derek Sipperly ('GCS '07) is a freshman member of the lacrosse team at the United States Military Academy. at West Point. Derek played in the opening season game, a 9-8 loss to NCAA DI #4 Cornell. Army is ranked in the top 25.
http://www.goarmysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=48015&SPID=4573&DB_OEM_ID=11100&ATCLID=3681568

Winter 2008-09

Tim Morris (GCS '07) completed his sophomore season on the basketball team at Mount Saint Mary College. He scored 19 points and had six rebounds against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. http://www.msmcblueknights.com/news/2008/11/19/MBB_1119084703.aspx?path=mbball

Caitlin Lane (GCS '08) ran on the Penn State University indoor track and field team. She  ran a personal best 4:49.74 in the prelims and placed in the finals of the Big Ten Championships, helping the NCAA DI #7 Nittany Lions to a second place finish. Caitlin also won the indoor mile at the Penn State Open. Watch the race here:
http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234501/121308

Fall 2008

Carolyn Williams (GCS '08) recently rowed for American University in the "Head of the Charles Regatta," in Boston. The "Head of the Charles" is the largest, most prestigious regatta in the world. There were more than 8200 rowers and an estimated 250,000 spectators lining the Charles River to watch.
http://www.aucrew.org/
 

Senior Sam Roods (GCS '05) is a member of the Hartwick College cross country team http://www.hartwick.edu/x23802.xml . Sam is also the Student Senate Secretary and recently addressed  "...dignitaries, delegates, and representatives from more than 50 colleges, universities, learned societies, and professional organizations under a gala tent..." to honor Hartwick's new President.
http://www.hartwick.edu/x24945.xml .

Lucas Roods (GCS '08) is a member of the Clarkson University cross country team. He recently competed in the Liberty League Championships, at which Clarkson finished 4th. http://clarksonathletics.com/roster.asp?path=ccountry

Clint Borbolla (GCS '08) is playing soccer for Alfred State. The Pioneers are currently ranked  10^th in the DIII National Junior College Athletic Association poll.
http://alfredstate.edu/news/2008-10-08/mens-and-womens-soccer-teams-both-ranked-in-top-10

 

Nick Johnson (GCS '05) has scored 2 goals this season for the Castleton State (VT) soccer team. Castleton is the defending North Atlantic Conference champion and is currently in first place.
http://www.csc.vsc.edu/athletics/msoccer/players/johnson.htm

Trent McCaskill (GCS '06) is playing soccer at New Haven University. He was last year's Sportsmanship Award winner for the Chargers.
http://www.newhaven.edu/athletics/teams/msoccer/roster/profiles/McCaskill,Trent

GCS Women Harriers star on college teams

Ashley Fung (GCS '08) has led Alfred State’s cross country team to a #3 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll. Alfred State won the recent Finger Lakes Bruce Bridgeman Invitational and Ashley’s 2^nd place finish was tops on her team.
http://www.alfredstate.edu/news/2008-09-23/lady-pioneers-ranked-3rd-men-5th
 

Maya Seegers (GCS '06) has been named the Skyline Conference Runner of the Week twice this season, leading SUNY Purchase to the team title at the Purchase College Invitational.
https://www.purchase.edu/sharedmedia/physicaleducation/seegers20081.pdf

Penn State's Caitlin Lane (GCS '08) Named Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week!
Caitlin is the first Nittany Lion harrier to win the award since 2006.
http://gopsusports.cstv.com/sports/c-xc/spec-rel/090308aaa.html

SUNY Albany's Emily Fung (GCS '08) placed fifth at the Monmouth Cross Country Kick-Off, helping the Great Danes to a team victory over Monmouth, Wagner, Temple, Long Island University and Drew.
http://wagnerathletics.com/documents/2008/9/6/Women's%20Results.pdf?id=421

Chelsea Borbolla (GCS '07) is a member of the Iona College cross country team.
http://www.icgaels.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14900&KEY=&SPID=7093&SPSID=64276

Hartwick College Football

             
Kyle Seabury (GCS '08) and Ethan Bain (GCS '08)
are members of the Hartwick College football team http://www.hartwick.edu/x23655.xml

Summer 2008

Derek Sipperly (GCS 2007) at West Point R-Day
"R-Day (Reception Day) at the US Military Academy at West Point is an awesome experience for both the new cadets and their present families. For the cadet, West Point R-Day marks his or her last day as a civilian for at least the next 8 years; for the parents, friends, and other family members, they watch their cadets begin their metamorphoses into leaders in the US Army."
From http://www.getintoacademy.com/50/west-point-r-day-2007/

Spring 2008

Maya Seegers ('06) is the recipient of the SUNY 2007-08 Scholar Athlete Award at SUNY Purchase. She has a 4.01 GPA in biology and was a three-time Skyline Conference runner of the week in cross-country.

Christine Yakubec ('04), a senior at Sacred Heart University (NCAA Division I),  earned the bronze medal in the discus (140' 1") at the 2008 New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Thomas Walsh ('06) and Jamie McNally ('07) are currently serving in the United States Army in Iraq.

Winter 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Review by Alex Hyatt, GlensFallsRock.com
Brittany Harrington

Jeremy Harrington was named to the Dean's List at the University of New England, Biddeford, Maine. He is majoring in marine biology.

Charlie Morris completed his senior basketball season at Mount Saint Mary College, in Newburgh, NY. The senior captain has a 3.0 cumulative g.p.a. and will graduate in January 2009 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in History.

Tim Morris completed his freshman basketball season at Mount Saint Mary College. He started 19 of 26 games and was named Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week.

Samuel Roods, a junior at Hartwick College in Oneonta, has been named to the Dean's list (3.5 g.p.a. or better) for the fall semester. Sam is majoring in political science and has participated in Student 2 Student Peer Mentoring, Cross-Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field, Honors Program, Fair Trade Club and the Student Advisory Committee. Recently Sam was nominated by a faculty member for the John Christopher Hartwick Award, a monetary honor for involved seniors with high grade point averages. The awards range from several thousand dollars to full tuition for the senior year. Sam spent the Spring '06 semester at American University, studying Foreign Relations and working at the American Diplomatic Center in Washington, DC. He recently returned from South Africa, where he spent January studying the culture and politics of the country.  

Patrick Campbell (class of 09) is now in his junior year at St. Lawrence University where he is majoring in Anthropology. He has been selected for inclusion on the Dean's List for academic achievement for five straight semesters To be eligible for the Dean's List at St. Lawrence University, a student must have completed at least four semester units and have an academic average of 3.6 (based on a 4.0 scale). While attending he has been the Vice President of the Rugby Club, a Resident Assistant, served as and EMS for the school and a volunteer fireman for the Village of Canton. He has also served on several advisory councils and serves as a Freshman Study Mentor. He is spending his spring semester abroad at James Cook University in Queensland Australia.

Keith Pendergrass (Amherst College) ran the 400M on his team's 6th place Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA Division III New England Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Fall 2007

Maya Seegers led her SUNY Purchase cross-country team to a second place finish at the Skyline Conference Championship, placing second, overall, in a race of sixty runners. She was also named to the All-Skyline team.

Chelsea Borbolla ran cross-country for Iona College.

Michael Schreiner and Chris Flynn played Fall Baseball for Adirondack Community College.

Jamie McNally is a member of the Fourth Infantry Division- Mechanized Infantry- in the United States Army. He is stationed in Fort Hood, Texas.

Spring 2007

Rachel Skellie

Feature: Natural appreciation

July 24, 2007

By Amy Farnum
NCAASports.com Staff Writer


As University of Rochester softball player Rachel Skellie grew up on a dairy farm in Upstate New York, she naturally developed an appreciation for the environment. This summer, Skellie is learning how to turn that appreciation into a career.

The farm kid from Greenwich, N.Y., began taking ecology and environmental science classes as a way to supplement her schedule after beginning college. The classes peaked Skellie’s curiosity and cultivated the knowledge she had gained on the farm -- how Environmental Sciences played into real life.

After completing her junior year, Skellie wanted to get some first-hand experience on the subject, so she started looking for places that offered internships.

“I really wanted to get an internship to figure out how I would use the things I was learning,” said Skellie. I had been to the New England Aquarium a few times and thought it would be a really neat place to work. I looked on their web site and saw they had internships and found one that applied to me.”

Skellie is now spending the summer in Boston, volunteering at the aquarium’s environmental quality lab in addition to working at a ‘doggie daycare’ in order to pay the rent.

“We focus on the quality of the water since that is the biggest component of the aquarium,” said Skellie. “We test the water everyday for components like ammonia and nitrates, and are trying to match the water and environment, in general, to what they are like in nature. We ensure that every exhibit and tank in the aquarium has as natural an environment as possible for the animals in it.”

The water in the New England Aquarium is brought in from the Boston Harbor, so it needs to be filtered, and there are many factors that play into mirroring natural habitats. The second-team 2007 All-Liberty League outfielder is learning valuable hands-on experience in the field.

“I like it more and more since I started doing it,” said Skellie. “There is a lot of looking for trends, and the numbers, as I’ve been there longer, mean a lot more to me. I can now figure out what needs to be done (to the water).”

Skellie enjoys the analytical part of her internship, and helping to resolve problems.

“The aquarists and veterinarians rely on our department to act as ‘detectives’ for them,” said Skellie.

“We are the first people they come to see when something dies or is acting abnormal.”

The aquarium internship has also broadened Skellie’s future career plans, and she says staying in this field or going to veterinary school are both possibilities.

“I’m a big animal lover, and even though I’m not working with animals directly, I get to take care of them in a way, which I think is really neat,” said Skellie.

Skellie batted .279 in 27 games for Rochester last season as the Yellowjackets advanced to the Division III Championship for the first time in school history. The squad lost just two letterwinners from the 2007 team and will be looking to challenge for another postseason bid.