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When asked to give advice to college students, Reed Loy has this to say: “Learn about all the opportunities at college and take advantage of as many as possible to really learn what you love.”  Reed has been true to this advice from the very start of his time at UNH.  Having grown up not very far from Durham in the home of a UNH faculty member Reed, from an early age, was given the opportunity to experience life at college by helping out in his father’s plant biology lab.  These early visits to UNH coupled with growing up on a working farm in Epping, NH have made the environment a passion for Reed.

When he first arrived at Fairchild Hall as a first-year student it was to take part in the UNH PROVES program.  Initially he saw the program as an opportunity to move-in early and meet some people, but it has since become another one of Reed’s passions.  UNH PROVES is a week-long pre-orientation program for first year students that involves service to the local community.  Each day of his first week of college, Reed got up early, loaded into a van and off he went to help. The experience was so meaningful that Reed has returned every summer since as a counselor and is planning on taking on an even greater leadership role in his senior year. 

Service does not end for Reed once school begins in the fall; in fact it just becomes a bigger part of his life.  Reed has been an active member of the Fairchild hall council since arriving – taking an active role motivating and organizing residents on his floor to be active in their community.  There is rarely an event happening in Fairchild that Reed doesn’t participate in including intramural sports, community partnerships and floor wars.  Aside from his active life as a Fairchild resident, Reed since arriving at UNH has been a youth minister at St. Georges Episcopal Church in Durham.  Reed considers this an opportunity to be a positive role model for some local kids.  He plans weekly activities for them providing experiences that will challenge them to think and reflect.

Beyond his commitment to service there is a whole other Reed Loy – the passionate student.  Reed has made it a priority to get “something” out of each and every class that he takes at UNH.  He decided early on that it wasn’t about “getting grades” (which he does) but about actively participating in his education.  During the second half of his sophomore year, Reed’s fervor for learning took him to New Zealand where he participated in UNH’s Eco-Quest program designed to address sustainability through critical thinking.  To further reinforce his studies of the environment and ecology Reed took a class during winter break in the Virgin Islands to further his understanding of Tropical Ecology.  His passion for the natural world is evident whenever you talk to him; he wants to transfer everything he has learned and will learn into making improvements to our natural world.  There is no doubt that he will approach that goal with as much zeal as he does everything else in his life.

When talking about the future, Reed doesn’t rule anything out.  He does plan on furthering his studies in graduate school and continuing his work with youth ministry.  He has even entertained the possibility of entering politics to champion the causes he so passionately believes in.  No matter where Reed winds up he will be guided by this quote:  “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving…”  Romans 12:11