“I love to build things in my shop class. I’ve built birdhouses,” shares Collin. He adds, “I also love to do electrical work. I like to wire things together, like outlets and switches.”

​

Collin is family orientated and is the youngest of four. He’s lived in Meridian all his life and shares that one of his sisters is a teacher at Crab Orchard; his brother works as a security guard at Choate Mental Health Facility.

 

Collin credits his interest in electrical wiring to his father. “Me and my dad have built a few things. He used to work with the laborers, so he did construction and stuff like that. So, he introduced me to it, and I became interested in it. My dad loves teaching me about cars, too.”

 

Collin’s favorite teachers are Mr. Borne and Miss Massey. While his favorite class is shop, he also enjoys reading and history. He has a specific interest in ancient architecture and older items. He considers ancient societies, especially ancient Rome and Mesopotamia times, intriguing.

 

Collin knows what it’s like to struggle, as well as to overcome adversity. He shares that COVID was difficult for him. In eighth grade, Collin was forced to transition from the classroom to distance learning. He admits that he didn’t take distance learning as seriously as he should have. Instead, he spent the majority of his time playing video games and almost failed as a result.

 

Upon returning to school, he was allowed to redeem himself. He completed a ton of coursework to graduate with his class. He also attended summer school to brush up on his math, a subject where he struggles.

 

He enjoys sports when Collin isn’t at school or playing video games. Collin enjoys playing basketball with his father. Not fearful of trying new things, he will play high school baseball despite not playing since tee ball. A diehard New Orleans Saints fan, Collin shares that football is his favorite sport and wishes Meridian had a team.

 

Collin also enjoys various methods of treasure hunting, a hobby his father shares with him. They sometimes search older buildings, but only ones where his father is allowed to enter, Collin shares. He finds it fascinating to see what others choose to leave behind. He and his father also like geocaching or using metal detectors to hunt for coins. Collin’s favorite find is a 1918 wheat penny he found while coin hunting in Pulaski County. While Collin says the coin is valued at twenty dollars, it’s priceless to him.

 

With such a rich life, Collin finds simple beauty in everything from lost coins to the ocean breeze. He admits that COVID taught him that life won’t always be as smooth and sometimes comes with a series of bumps. But he’s also learned that with a little effort, you can find lost treasure almost anywhere.