Volunteer work is at the core of the Vincentian mission, and senior Nate Gutierrez has embraced this by volunteering to help new students move into their residence halls on Move-in Day. In doing so, he offers much more than simply helping bring a few items upstairs: he plays an integral part in helping new students transition to life at college.
Guitierrez is from the suburbs and lived on campus his first year, so he understands how hard it can be to get used to living away from home while simultaneously getting the hang of college. Since then, though, he has fallen in love with the city, and has gotten pretty good at college, too. Ultimately, he wants to give back to the community that has done so much to support him during his time at DePaul.
“The giving, active community at DePaul has done a lot for my personal and professional development, and it’s opened my eyes to current issues and encouraged me to give back to this community that has given so much to me,” Gutierrez says.
Gutierrez began volunteering to move in new students to their residence halls last year and enjoyed the experience.
“I try to relate with the new students by remembering how I felt when I moved in my freshman year,” he says. Gutierrez finds it’s easier for new students when they talk to someone who has already survived the transition.
Gutierrez takes the day off of work on Move-in Day, but prior to that, he also works to recruit other volunteers. As a member of the Lamda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity Incorporated fraternity of the Multicultural Greek Council, Gutierrez spreads the word by talking to his fraternity brothers via social media, email and word of mouth.
His volunteer work didn’t begin and doesn’t end with Move-in Day. Gutierrez does a lot of volunteer work as a member of the fraternity. He is also a part of the DePaul Alliance for Latinx Empowerment, a Latinx-based group that focuses on the professional, social and academic resources within the Latinx community. If that’s not enough, Gutierrez also volunteers for the Chicago marathon and a program called Jumpstart, which helps understaffed and under-resourced preschools.
Gutierrez’s work volunteering is a clear example of a student taking initiative and embracing DePaul’s mission. He extends a helping hand to a variety of communities not for personal gain but to make things easier for fellow students and members of the Chicago community. In doing so, he’s connected with people he otherwise might not have. Last year while volunteering on Move-in Day, Gutierrez met one of his current fraternity brothers.
“I was just helping him move stuff upstairs when he came here, and now we are good friends and brothers,” he shares. Gutierrez had only positive things to say about his volunteer work on move-in day. “I absolutely recommend this opportunity to other students.”
There are many opportunities for volunteer work, and Gutierrez has done an outstanding job at taking initiative to help people at DePaul and beyond. Through his service the core of the Vincentian mission lives on, and maybe even encourages some of the new students he’s moving in to get on board with service, too.