Note: This message was originally sent on June 4, 2019
In honor of World Environment Day on June 5th, we are highlighting Steve Andrade, whose daughter’s experience with Gonzaga Outdoors inspired his generous support.
It took one week for Steve Andrade’s house to go from total chaos to eerily quiet. Three out of four kids started college at the same time, leaving just Steve and his youngest child there, staring at the dog. But the change in activity was easy compared to the heartache of not being able to be there for all of the kids as they started at different schools.
“My nephew I raised and my twins all started college at the same time,” he explained, “literally, in the same week. Traditionally, you go up there with your kids, set them up and get to say ‘goodbye.’ Logistically, I just couldn’t to it.”
Living in San Diego, Steve worked his way up the West Coast to get the kids off to school, starting with his son at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Gonzaga was the last stop on the tour, but by the time Steve arrived in Spokane, his daughter Leslie was set with a group of close friends, thanks to the Gonzaga Out Of Bounds pre-orientation program.
“I had no idea what the program was when she signed up for it,” Steve admitted. “Meanwhile, I got to see the other two off, and they didn’t know anyone. It was doubly challenging because the twins were going to be split up, 1,500 miles apart and they’d been together since preschool. I couldn’t be in both places at the same time, so it was great to see when I got there that she had 20 great friends already.”
Gonzaga Out Of Bounds offers incoming students with the opportunity to go on guided trips together, inspiring them to become active stewards of our natural surroundings while building relationships with their classmates. An avid outdoorsman himself, Steve was thrilled with the impact the program had on his daughter. “From the mountains to the ocean, the outdoors are my passion,” he remarked. “If I’m not camping, I’m surfing. So when the opportunity came along to have an impact, I made a donation to support Gonzaga outdoors. I hope other kids have as much fun doing it as mine did. When kids get to go into the outdoors, they have a whole new appreciation for it.”
Steve has supported the Gonzaga Outdoors program by establishing the Andrade Family Outdoor Orientation Endowment and by giving in support of the Gonzaga Outdoors space in the John J. Hemmingson Center. “It’s an amazing experience that totally put me at ease,” Steve added. “I wish more schools did it.”