Congratulations to our Apia Local Champion for August 2014!

We’re excited to announce our August winner for the Apia Local Champion Award – congratulations David Thurley!  David is a retired chemical engineer who uses his incredible passion to benefit children in his local community and the surrounding areas.

He has always loved science and upon retiring, he realised that it wasn’t something highly prioritised within the local community education system. He began volunteering his time at schools running weekly science programs in different classes… This caught on and over the last six or so years David has volunteered at several local schools in the area including one for disadvantaged children and another remote school of only seven children and one teacher.

When Starts at 60 chatted to David, he told us that science is the basis for curing diseases and inventing new things and without an enthusiasm for science, children won’t be able to do these things one day. This is why his volunteering is so important. David is the proud Grandfather to 12 grandchildren and has entertained them with science tricks and experiments for years. He knows how to make science fun and takes this same approach to teaching science in schools.

He told us that he loves teaching them how to make liquids change colour, things float in the air and how to make things explode. Just this week for book week, he was in the local library reading a picture book about a rocket launch to a group of children and to make it even more exciting, he had the children count down from ten and he was able to show them a small explosion at the end of the countdown just like a real rocket… He said the laughter and excitement was incredible.

We asked him what makes it all worth it and he told us that the feedback he gets from the children and their parents is so positive and heartwarming. We also spoke to David’s wife Sue and she told us that the children don’t just see him as the cool guy that does science, they truly admire him and see him as a role model within their community.

To David, working with the children and teaching science is what he loves to do. It’s how he enjoys spending his retirement and it puts a smile on his face.

Aside from voluntarily teaching science, David is also a local councillor and works with other parts of his local area helping to build a harmonious and happy community.

When we asked David how does he fit it all in he said it’s simple, “I love doing it all. And when you love doing things, you make time.”

David is incredibly deserving of this award and we are so pleased to name him the Apia Local Champion Award for August 2014 and he will be receiving a 16GB iPad mini.

Nominations for the September Apia Local Champion are now open so click here to nominate your local champion and celebrate how they continue to live life at its best.