Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Lake Linden-Hubbell High School students Emily Beveridge (left) and Lily Kumpula present their final projects to the district board Monday. The students were part of the early college program through Gogebic Community College.

LAKE LINDEN — Two Lake Linden-Hubbell High School students who completed the early college program through Gogebic Community College presented their final projects to the district board Monday night.

Emily Beveridge completed an associate’s degree in business. Lily Kumpula was qualified to take her practical nurse (LPN) exam, but will instead go on to pursue becoming a registered nurse (RN).

“Both of them I think have squeezed about as much out of this program as you could,” said guidance counselor Leon Sutherland.

for Beveridge’s senior project, she volunteered at the New Beginnings Angel Mission Free Store in Calumet. The non-profit provides free items for people in need, including clothing, houseware, bedding and food.

Fourteen churches across the Upper Peninsula support the store, which also receives about $400 a month in donations.

During her time as volunteer, Beveridge spoke with the director and other volunteers about how it began and how it runs. Along with other volunteers, she also sorted through donations to sift out the ones that were too ripped or broken for the store.

At Christmas, the store hosts a kids-only shopping event, where children choose a present each for their parents. Eighty-five children participated in the event, through which they also wrote cards and got their presents wrapped.

Similar programs exist on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

“Seeing all the children come in and pick out gifts for their parents made me really happy,” Beveridge said. “They saw a gift and knew their parents would love them. Their faces just lit up.”

Volunteering there taught her to be a better person, Beveridge said.

“It made me realize and appreciate what I have,” she said.

Drawing on the science demonstrations she loved as a child, Kumpula went to kindergarten and fourth grade classrooms to them about the importance of washing hands.

For her first activity, she used a Glo Germ lotion, which, when put under a black light, makes it appear as though the hand is covered in germs.

When the kids predictably “go crazy,” Beveridge said, she has them wash their hands right away with the proper techniques.

“They realize they’re missing some spots, like in their nails and the creases of their hands, that germs can hide,” she said.

In another activity, she dumped glitter into hand sanitizer, then put it on the hands of three students. Without telling the classmates what had happened, Kumpula launched an activity where the students shook hands with each other.

“They realized if they don’t wash their hands, germs can spread pretty darn fast,” she said.