Page 84 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2024

Colton Muraco
Alicia Joy Young
Compiled by Cherie Ward
photo courtesy of
Colton Muraco
Colton Muraco has been a busy young man during his academic career. He scored a 31 on the ACT. He’s dually enrolled in Long Beach High School and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He’s an award-winning nature photographer and an animal and wildlife volunteer.
As a volunteer research assistant with Mississippi Aquarium, he’s worked as boat crew on trips in the Mississippi Sound, taken photos of dolphin dorsal fins
Fascinated by robotics since she was in elementary school, it’s no surprise Alicia
Joy Young
became captain
of Gulfport High School’s FIRST Team Fusion
364, Mississippi’s premier FIRST robotics team. She’s also a mentor at elementary and middle school robotics events and encourages other high school robotics teams to work together.
And when she’s
not learning cutting-
edge technology
and science, she’s been busy performing in more than 50 community and high school productions. In her spare moments, she assists in building bunny houses for an animal rescue.
She has a myriad of academic accommodations including an award from Dramafest for puppetry work. She was also recognized for assisting with wire installation for a model tiny house the school built for Back Bay Mission.
She’s headed to Mississippi State University in the fall with a double major in mechanical engineering and entertainment technology. Her career plans include acting, prop design and building, set building, and scenic design.
for research, conducted beach surveys for stranded sea turtles, assisted with NOAA-permitted stranded sea turtle processing, and assisted with live sea turtle treatments. At the Woodside Wildlife Rescue, he bottle feeds orphaned raccoons, otters, and beavers.
At home, he’s rehabilitating two rescued macaw parrots
who were abused at a former home and has adopted a special behavioral needs dog that he is training to be a guardian. He also won an Association of Zoos and Aquarium photo contest.
When he has a minute, he’s learning horsemanship and hopes to own horses in the future. He plans to attend Mississippi State University.
84 | April 2024 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
photo courtesy of
Alicia Joy Young
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