Volunteer Spotlight: Quinn DeBates

Written by: Space Foundation Editorial Team

These Volunteer Spotlight articles profile some of the interesting and dedicated people who make Space Foundation programs possible. We could not do the work we do without the generous and tireless support of our volunteers. This week, we are featuring Space Foundation Discovery Center volunteer Quinn DeBates.

Quinn was born in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, but his family moved to Colorado Springs before his first birthday, so he claims native status. His great uncle worked at Lockheed on the Viking Lander and the Juno Spacecraft, and his grandfather worked with satellites as a weatherman for the Air Force — so you could say that space runs in his blood. His favorite planet is Jupiter, and he thinks the pictures that Juno has sent back are “utterly gorgeous.”

In his free time, Quinn enjoys video games and he is also a voracious reader. His greatest inspiration comes from the works of the great bards and orators, like Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe. Of these classic writers he says, “There’s so much you can do with language, written, oral, and non-verbal, to weave a story, be it real or complete fantasy, and I can only hope to one day be able to inspire emotions that well.”

Reflecting both his interests in space and literature, Quinn offers a humorous bit of trivia: “All of Jupiter’s moons are named after the namesake Roman god’s mythological lovers. Juno — the craft we sent to investigate Jupiter and its moons — is named after his wife.”

If you are interested in becoming a Space Foundation/Space Foundation Discovery Center volunteer, please reach out to Jennifer Walters, Volunteer Program Manager, at [email protected]

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