Herald Today's News Back Issues Herald Records Birth Notices Editorials Honor Rolls Obituaries Milestones Police Logs Quick Clicks Churches Club Listings Concerts Crossword Event Calendar Exhibits Legals Lottery Mortgage Rates Movie Times Site Search Theatre TV Times Weather Marketplaces Cars Classifieds Dating Dining Golf Jobs Lodging Real Estate Yellow Pages Sections Business Entertainment Health Living Maine News Online Only Public Records Sports Tourism Travel
Print this Story Email this Article Laura Corlin
A kindred spirit - Strafford teen 'Spirit of the Seacoast' winner By Holly Finigan hfinigan@seacoastonline.com Laura Corlin is living for today and helping others live for a better tomorrow. A senior at Coe Brown High School in Strafford, Corlin is involved with drama, music, Students Against Drunk Driving, has founded a charity, and has spent more than 2,000 hours volunteering in the community. Now Corlin has something else to add to her long list of recognition and awards. She is this fall’s Spirit of the Seacoast winner. The award, given quarterly, is sponsored by United Way of the Greater Seacoast Volunteer Action Center, Federal Savings Bank in Dover, and the Portsmouth Herald. The award recognizes volunteers who make a difference in someone’s life, who take community service one step further with their attitude, time and skill. The winner receives a $500 grant to go to the charity of their choice. "We want to recognize and promote volunteerism in the community," said Robin Albert, director of the United Way of the Greater Seacoast’s Volunteer Action Center for the past five years. "This award has been incredibly successful in honoring volunteers and sharing information." Fifteen other volunteers were nominated for the award, though Corlin was the ultimate winner. Albert describes Corlin as a "self-starter and a dynamic student." Corlin is using the money for her own charity, The Difference Music Makes. The charity supplies portable CD players and compact discs to children in hospitals. "I was inspired to do the charity by a director of mine. She thought I could really make a difference and I should do something other than bake sales and car washes," she said. "And the idea just blossomed from there." The Difference Music Makes is now in full bloom. Corlin’s charity has donated hundreds of CD players and CDs to children in local hospitals. From St. Jude to the Children’s Hospital in Tennessee to the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth/Hitchcock in New Hampshire and on to the San Diego Children’s Hospital in California, Corlin’s dedication to music and children is admirable. "People have reached out so much to my program," she said. "It is just amazing to me." Amazing is how Corlin still has time to hang out with her friends and go to the movies with her busy schedule. "October is going to be a busy month," she said. She is involved with the school play, playing Helena in Shakespeare’s "A Mid-Summer’s Night’s Dream". Corlin organizes sweater drives with her sister Meagan, throughout the year, and has collected about 3,500 for New Hampshire families in need. Corlin volunteers at many different organizations, including the "StarMight Foundation”, which was founded by her older sister Megan. A talented singer, Corlin has sung the national anthem at Boston Celtics games, along with UNH hockey games. She is a high-honor student, a budding musician, and a caring citizen. Corlin has also been working on recording and producing the second CD in the "Difference Music Makes Series." The CD, titled, "Tru Colors" was released at the end of September. The proceeds will also raise funds for the research of life-threatening pediatric diseases, said Corlin. Corlin said she is looking forward to using the grant and being able to distribute the CD players and her new CD to the kids. "When I went to sing in front of the kids in the hospital, I was so excited," she said. "It is amazing that those kids were able to get up and come see me. It was such a heartwarming feeling." Genuine and well-spoken, Corlin was also awarded a different kind of award this past March. March 25, 2004, was officially proclaimed Laura Corlin Day in Strafford. The award from Straffod County Commissioner’s Commendation is a plaque that hangs on her wall. "It was so cool!" she said. "I had no idea that I was getting this award." Corlin said she is surprised by all the scholarships and awards she has won for her dedication to community service. "I’ve been getting these awards, and it is so wonderful, but I am doing things that I love, and don’t expect to get rewarded out of it." Along with Laura Corlin Day, Laura has received many scholarships from various groups, helping fund her way to college. And what do the next four years have in store for Corlin? Syracuse and the Berklee College of Music are among her top college choices, and she dreams of being a music teacher someday. A self-described "born-again country music fan," Corlin’s newest passion is the fiddle. In whatever spare time she can find, she has been rehearsing as much as possible. Corlin’s generous nature and kindred spirit have made her not only the "spirit of the seacoast" but an inspiration for many others.