A native of Boulder, Doyle's childhood found him occasionally getting injured due to his love of sports. The resulting exposure to medicine and hospital technology intrigued him. Now he says, "I thrive on physics and chemistry, which means I like to get to know my textbooks well." His passion has been obvious enough to allow him to get to know some of his professors, and he looks forward to additional activities within his chosen CU department.

Last year his sociology professor, Patti Adler, assigned students to work 20 hours as volunteers with local charitable agencies. Doyle has since spent Wednesday evenings as a regular part of the efforts of the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. " I look forward to going there," he said. "The staff is kind and comfortable to be around, and the residents recount stories you wouldn't otherwise hear."
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He explained how he contacted several agencies before being selected by the Shelter as a volunteer. He noted how promptly the Shelter responded to his inquiries and also how warmly they welcomed him aboard.

Shelter Volunteer Coordinator Janet McLachlan said, "Trevor has energy, people skills, kindness and compassion. He shows an interest in the lives of our residents. He answers phones, gives tours to newcomers, runs errands throughout the building, and assists intake staff and incoming residents with whatever comes up. Our staff feels they can rely on him."

Doyle said, "Sometimes, all people need is for someone to hear how their day was, and it will make them feel better about it. I enjoy spending time with the residents and try to combine that with routine shelter chores." His goal is to leave shelter staff free for the bigger issues at hand.

There are at least 150 residents in the shelter during peak-season evenings, and many take the opportunity to socialize in community spaces provided there. Doyle reminisced about a talented comedian he got to know while spending time with the residents: "He appeared in the shelter after having suffered the loss of some family members. In spite of that, he had a notebook full of jokes, and planned to seek his fortune in LA. He was better than anyone I've seen on Comedy Central."

For information about volunteering with the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless or other agencies, call the Volunteer Connection at 303-444-4904, or go to our Volunteer Central.