Submitted by Gretchen Carey, DPW Recycling Coordinator
In a world where so many of us are just trying to get by, it is a pleasure to find someone who really puts in the extra time and effort to make good things happen. It is even nicer to see that person rewarded.
Noel Zamot is this years’ recipient of the Allied Waste/ Republic Services Environmental Scholarship, $1000 as presented by the Department of Public Works. Noel is the student commander of AFJROTC (Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) Detachment MA-791 at Bedford High School, a student group dedicated to the idea of community service. At the suggestion of Michael Griffin, his science teacher, Noel oversaw the training, organization, and deployment of both the ROTC students and students of the Environmental Club who worked diligently all year to collect the recycling containers in every high school classroom.
Noel worked with his brother Cameron to create a rotating roster for the students to ensure a fair workload. This partnership by the two student groups created a winning combination for both: the cadets in ROTC are awarded promotions based on credit earned through this project, while the Environmental Club students were freed up to do more environmental outreach and spend more time on ecology-related activities.
Along with making high school recycling a win-win situation, Noel’s take charge attitude and easy smile clearly had a positive effect on his classmates. At the time of this photograph, his entire science class came out to cheer him on, creating a tunnel for him to walk through while patting him on the back and congratulating him. It seems clear this young man has already begun changing the world, and the DPW wishes him well on his future endeavors.