Meet the Summer Instructors Part VI

Sabrina and Annemarie

Sabrina Conroy, from Bellerose Village, NY, has grown up on the Long Island Sound, and came to the Waterfront Center with the intention of sharing her love of the local environment with young kids. “[I want to give] kids the opportunity to live their summer to the fullest, but at the same time I’m doing that for myself - [it’s] a summer adventure for the both of us!” she said, emphasizing her desire to be a part of a very “student-focused” program that incorporated marine education. After doing a quick search on the internet and discovering the Waterfront Center’s summer program, she mentioned the prospect to some friends, and, as she says, “the recommendations started flooding in!” Sabrina said that the second she drove up, she knew it was a place she would want to spend a lot of time: “This is home, this is where I want to be.” Aside from her interest in the environment, the 25 year-old is an avid reader who completed a degree in English from Queens College, concentrating on medieval and gothic literature. Though it is her first year working here in Oyster Bay, Sabrina is familiar with the marine environment from her many summers fishing with her grandfather on the Sound. It was for that reason that, she says, she wanted to focus on preserving the waters of the Sound - “and I’m working with amazing people!” Like many of the other counselors, Sabrina finds working with children extremely rewarding, and loves how amazed they are by even the simplest things. With such a vibrant take on sharing her love of the marine environment, I am sure our budding scientists will love spending time with Sabrina!

Fun Facts

Desired Superhero Power: “I would probably want to be able to fly, because I hate traffic!...I want to be able to get places and really live my life to the fullest.”

Favorite Sports Team: The Mets

Favorite Book: The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Sparks (“I was raised around horses,” she said)

Favorite Quote: “Life isn’t about hiding from the storm, but learning to dance in the rain.”

Random Fact: Her senior thesis, which was about vampires in literature, was printed in the Washington Archives

Joining the Naturalist team with a vivacious attitude and ample teaching experience is Annemarie Elenio. With a masters in Special Education from Molloy College, Annemarie has a passion for teaching, and sharing her own knowledge of the environment with kids who will in turn grow up to take better care of it: “I’m really amazed by different animals and habitats, and I love to teach kids about [it]”, she said, and emphasized the importance of making younger students understand the impact their everyday actions have on the environment: “I don’t think they know enough about [the environment], I don’t think they realize what’s really going on.” As a kindergarten teacher in Montauk, her own class has an entire curriculum on recycling - and she plans to continue that level of dedication to her summer students here at the Waterfront Center. When she found the program online, and found out that her brother was actually well-acquainted with the WFC, Annemarie jumped at the opportunity to be on the water doing what she loves all summer. “It’s a very rewarding job,” she said, “What I’m most looking forward to is teaching by doing - I think that’s invaluable to them.” Annemarie is an energetic and passionate teacher with a true commitment to sharing her environmental knowledge, and we look forward to the many smiles she is sure to bring to the WFC this summer!

Fun Facts

Desired superhero power: To be invisible, and to control the weather

Favorite ice-cream flavor: Hazelnut

Favorite sports team: the Jets

Pepsi or Coke?: Coke

Favorite book: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert