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Community Service & Action

Student: Anthony Maltese

CSA Story Header for Anthony Maltese; a headshot image on a maroon and gold background

Anthony Maltese
he/him/his
Senior - Biochemistry

Where are you from?
Oswego, IL


What do you like to do?
In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends and exploring the city together. What I love most about Chicago is there’s always a new restaurant or museum to discover and they never disappoint. I also really like to watch movies and the latest streaming shows. My favorite this past year has been House of the Dragon on Max.


How are you involved in Community Service & Action?
I have been a volunteer with Loyola4Chicago for over two years now, and since then, I’ve had the immense privilege of working with multiple site partners in our local community. My first two semesters, I volunteered at Jordan Elementary School and FORA, and last year, I became a student leader for Centro Romero. I look forward to continuing in this role for the upcoming year!


Why do you engage in the community?
From a very young age, my parents have always instilled in me a sense of service to those around you, especially those who may be less fortunate than me. I knew when I came to Loyola, I wanted to join a service organization that fulfilled my desire to engage with my community, and when I found L4C, it was a perfect match. This organization has allowed me to build new connections and work with diverse populations that I would’ve never encountered on such a personal level had I not joined. The past two years volunteering with L4C have been some of the most rewarding and eye-opening experiences in my entire life.


What is one of your favorite stories from your community engagement experiences?
When I worked at FORA, I had the opportunity to mentor a new high school student who was in the midst of preparing for his first job interview. He was incredibly nervous and struggled with social interactions, so I worked to build his confidence and help him practice answering questions. As the child of refugees from the Middle East, it was incredibly inspiring hearing his story and the bravery it took for his parents to flee their home and start an entire new life here in America. Working with him will be an experience I never forget.


How are you involved at Loyola outside of CSA?
Outside of CSA, I am a research assistant in Dr. Esipova’s organic chemistry lab. I have also volunteered with Hearts4Homeless, a non-profit organization that provides free blood pressure readings to underserved populations in the local community.


What advice would you give to an incoming student at Loyola?
My biggest piece of advice is to take full advantage of all the events hosted on campus. LUCommunity provides an exhaustive list of all the organizations and events going on throughout the semester, and these are the best ways to meet new people and participate in extremely fun activities. The Department of Programming (DOP) here at Loyola does an amazing job setting up events, so always keep an eye out for what’s coming up. Some of my favorite events I’ve went to over the years are the movie nights hosted on Fridays in Damen, a Bob Ross painting session, and one year, me and my friends even got free tickets to Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-Up, which was really fun.