On Sunday, Feb. 23, members of Phi Gamma Delta, colloquially known as FIJI, helped beloved Sodexo dining staff Elizabeth “Mamacita” Maldonado move homes.
Students know Maldonado as a fixture in the Bertholf Commons, greeting students as they come and go from the dining hall.
“She makes everyone feel loved and appreciated so this was the least we could do to help someone who couldn’t be more deserving,” junior Christopher Wilson said.
Maldonado asked Wilson for FIJI’s help with the move, not knowing anyone with a truck and needing “manpower” to do the heavy lifting. Wilson enlisted the help of other FIJI members and friends of the fraternity to help Maldonado move houses.
FIJI members Christopher Wilson, junior Cody Buskohl, senior Liam Bivona, senior Colin McKibben, senior Thomas Day, freshman Sebastian Kunitz and unaffiliated junior Brandon Nieft made five trips between Maldonado’s new home and the storage unit to transport her furniture and household goods.
Taking multiple cars each trip, Maldonado’s helpers moved furniture into the house and smaller collections into the garage. “We lifted a dresser and a bed to the second story of the house,” Wilson said.
“Although it was a long day of moving, the feeling of accomplishment, the smiles, gratefulness and happiness exuding from Mamacita was beyond rewarding,” Day said. “It doesn’t take a lot of effort to help someone else and Mamacita is beyond deserving.”
The move took most of the day, starting at 10 a.m. and finishing at 4 p.m., when the helpers took Maldonado out to dinner at the Imperial Buffet.
“It felt good to help her, and I feel like we did a good thing for someone in our community,” Bivona said.
Maldonado’s helpers encouraged students to seek out ways to help others in the IWU community by building connections.
“We were given this opportunity simply by knowing Mamacita and having a relationship with her,” Wilson said. “The opportunities are out there, you just need to open yourself up and be willing to lend a hand.”
Day said that even a smile could make someone’s day. “Mamacita’s energy is contagious. A nice gesture like hers might feel simple or small, but we don’t know the impact it might have on others.”
“She is always so kind and helpful to others, so we wanted to return some of the favor by helping her move,” Bivona said.