Schmitt Scholars, DU Staff Help Maywood Family with Home Repair and Beautification
This article appears in the Fall 2025 issue of the Dominican University Magazine.
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On a sunny spring Saturday, five students from Dominican University’s Schmitt Scholars program and nine university staff volunteers devoted a day of compassionate service to helping a Maywood family improve their home and property.
Monica Petek, a Schmitt Scholar, worked with Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago to organize the project at the home of LeeDell and Ofelina Thornton. With Dominican University as a sponsor, Petek recruited student and staff volunteers who spent the day removing shrubbery, planting flowers and hedges, painting, and clearing out clutter and debris from the 100-year-old house.
“It’s been a blessing,” said LeeDell Thornton, who has lived in the home since his birth in 1959. “This definitely helps us with some needs we can’t pay for ourselves.”
The work took place April 26, which was designated as National Rebuilding Day, an event dedicated to home repair through volunteerism. Additional volunteers with professional experience in carpentry, plumbing and electrical work joined the DU team to perform more skilled tasks.
Through community partnerships and volunteers, Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago helps residents in need improve their homes so they can live in “warmth, safety and comfort.” The organization is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, a national organization with the same mission.
“Overall, I think National Rebuilding Day was a great success,” Petek said. “Assigning the Dominican volunteers to focus primarily on decluttering and outdoor tasks helped keep the team organized and allowed them to complete their work more efficiently and effectively. I came away from the experience with a renewed excitement for volunteering, as well as feeling more prepared to design and lead future projects.”
The Schmitt Scholars program at DU, funded by the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation, provides civic and community-based learning opportunities for selected students with leadership potential. Students choose a project that aligns with civic learning and is of interest to them.
“I think it’s the most direct way to engage in creating a more just and humane world,” said Paul Simpson, director for civic learning at Dominican University. “It changes you. It’s not just the work you are doing, it’s the connections and bonds you are forming, the confidence that you’re building.”
Petek, a graphic design major, was introduced to Rebuilding Together by Lecturer Theresa “Nacho” Montiel-O’Donnell as a potential client for her graphic design capstone project. Petek ultimately designed an exterior wrap for the organization’s van and decided to resume the partnership when it came time for her Schmitt Scholars service project.
“I felt really connected to their mission of revitalizing communities and supporting lower-income families,” Petek explained.
Joining Petek as volunteers were Schmitt Scholars James Comoda, Jaiden Mejia, Marwa Abdullah and Amy Villasenor. DU staff volunteers were Jessica Daniels, Omar Diaz, Samella Hargro, Hector Melendez, Amy Omi ’02 (with son Evan), Jonathan Quijada, Sasha Santiago ’16, MCR ’19, Paul Simpson and Israel Vazquez.
“Everyone was so enthusiastic about joining in on this project that I wish we could do it every few weeks,” noted Simpson.
