Who has never dreamed of being a young broadcast sports journalist, seated aloft at Fenway Park, and excitedly describing the home run blast sealing a Red Sox victory over the Yankees? Boothbay Region High School graduate Nathaniel Colcord cherished such a dream, and to realize it, he is now studying sports broadcasting at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Colcord loves his classes at UNO and his dormitory life as well. He has his own room with the use of a full kitchen. A good job, only minutes away at a sporting goods store, helps him with his expenses.

Colcord is finding his freshman year courses not only academically edifying, but equally enjoyable. In addition to his economics, mass media and journalism courses, he also took a course called “Argumentation and Debate,” which he labeled “pretty fun.” Guest lecturers from the Omaha area, local journalists and writers, have enlivened and helped add both depth and zest to his classes. Going to school far from Boothbay Harbor, Colcord has met many new people and friends. He plays intramural basketball and football, both of which have helped make his college experience at UNO wonderful.

Colcord attends UNO financially aided by the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund’s (BRSAF’s) Hernan and Delores Reyes Scholarship, one of the BRSAF’s many “Named Scholarships.”

Together with their young children, beginning in the 1980s, Hernan and Lory Reyes spent their annual summer vacations in the Boothbay region. Impressed with the friendliness of local residents, in late 1997, following Hernan’s retirement from his job as chief of surgery at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital and from his professorship of surgery and dean for surgery at the Rush University Medical Center, Hernan and Lory established their summer residence in Boothbay Harbor.

Since then their children and grandchildren have been regular visitors to the region. Both Hernan and Lory have long valued higher education as a crucial asset in achieving one’s goal in his/her chosen career and family life. The Reyes believe that it was the generosity of family, friends and mentors which helped them to take advantage of the opportunities given them during their postgraduate training and subsequent professional life. They believe in sharing their blessings with others, especially in helping students such as Nathaniel Colcord to achieve their career goals and are delighted to support the goals of the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund.

The Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund (BRSAF) is currently in the midst of its annual fund drive. Contributions to the BRSAF can be sent to P.O. Box 293, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538. For more information on the BRSAF, go to www.boothbayharborstudentaidfund.org.