Maggie Bao - Gold Award

School: Sunset High School
Category: Teens (11-15)
Hours: 182

From an early age, Maggie always had a passion for animals. She had a variety of animals as a child: fish, chickens, a tortoise, and a cat. In middle school, she worked at the PetSmart cat adoption center every weekend to clean out the cages and play with cats as an Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals (OFOSA) volunteer. She also fostered many cats for the organization. Entering high school, she applied to be a part of the Oregon Zoo’s teenager program, Zooteens. As an Animal Interpreter over the summer, she educates Oregon Zoo visitors about conservation issues and animal welfare through games and activities, animal talks, and animal interactions. Having to commit to two shifts per week from 8 am to 3 pm, she has learned how to communicate with visitors of all different age groups and made many new friends among her Zooteen peers. Throughout the school year, she participates in special events like Vulture Awareness Day, Howloween, and weekend shifts at the Goat Yard or the Insect Zoo. During the wintertime, she is one of the volunteers at Zoolights. On most nights she dresses up in a festive elf costume. In addition to volunteering at the zoo, Maggie plays the cello at the Westside Community and Youth Orchestra (WCYO) and loves to draw. She also takes an interest in coding, robotics, and cybersecurity.

Oregon Chinese Coalition is proud to join the President of the United States in recognizing the volunteers who consistently take the time to make a difference in the lives of others. Therefore, it is a great honor to present the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) to Maggie Bao.