“You could see the dividends that are paid forward when you give selflessly. A lot of the things I do are just straight-up fun.”
By Joe Badzinski
No matter how busy his days are, Ryan Gerts can always find an extra hour or two to help someone out.
“It’s not a task, it is a privilege to be able to do all those things,” Gerts said of his dedication to volunteer work.
Gerts, a senior from Bloomingdale, Illinois, who plays linebacker on the Warriors football team, recently was nominated for the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
He is one of 22 players nationwide, across all football divisions, to be recognized as leaders in character and work ethic both on and off the field.
Gerts, voted co-captain by his teammates this season, is a three-time All-NSIC selection in football and has earned a 3.37 GPA in Cell & Molecular Biology. His accomplishments earned him the Harry Jackson Scholarship in 2013-14, awarded to outstanding football student- athletes. In addition, Gerts receives a renewable WSU football scholarship.
David Braun, WSU’s co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, nominated Gerts for the AFCA award. “It’s a blessing to have the opportunity to work with Ryan,” Braun said. “He’s a young man with an incredible demeanor, a great work ethic, and the guys on the team relate to him and look up to him.”
Gerts had no plans to focus on anything but football and academics when he arrived at Winona State in 2010. That changed quickly.
“You could see the dividends that are paid forward when you give selflessly. A lot of the things I do are just straight-up fun,” he said.
His favorite volunteer moments have come while working with kids.
For several years, he has traveled to the Boys and Girls Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, to take part in Team Smile, which offers dental care to kids in need.
In Winona, he’s a Big Brother to Wesley, a fourth-grader at Jefferson Elementary.
“We’ll play football, or Legos, work on his homework,” Gerts said. “It’s just mentoring him and having a fun time with him. It’s one of the main highlights of my week.”
“You could see the dividends that are paid forward when you give selflessly. A lot of the things I do are just straight-up fun.”
On campus, Gerts has helped out the 48-Hour Practice, an athlete- run fundraiser for clean water wells in Africa, and Love Your Melon, a charity that sells winter hats to help children battling cancer.
Gerts went with other WSU students to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester to visit the children’s ward.
“That was really a life-changing event, just to see these kids truly light up,” Gerts said.
For Gerts, managing his time actually became easier once he got involved in volunteering.
“I just started realizing there are so many opportunities out there, it’s kind of motivating,” he said. “I feel like I want to give back, and I truly enjoy it.”
