Left: Nelson Aquino is welcomed by a child to his most recent work in Grozny, Chechnya. Right: Nelson Aquino with CNN’s Anderson Cooper 10 days after the earthquake in Port Au Prince Haiti.
I do,” Aquino said. Few people were able to offer the same support his fraternity brothers did, and he says that those were good, lasting relationships. He has been out of school for nearly 15 years now, and still keeps in contact with many of those men. On top of that, he credits Phi Kappa Theta with building his faith and instilling in him important values like leadership and thoughtfulness. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Phi Kap,” he said. Aquino’s trips with his fraternity brothers to visit cancer patients at the local children’s hospital were what inspired him to work with children and their families. “I love what I do,” he said. “Being able to talk a second grader through a surgery is incredibly rewarding.” Seeing a smile after surgery or being able to calm a family are what keep him coming back for more. Since graduating from Seton Hall in 1996, Aquino has worked at a number of hospitals specializing in pediatric care. Currently, he works at Children’s Hospital Boston and regularly volunteers his time and services to those outside of the United States who may never have a chance to see a professional. His volunteer work started with a group called Heart Care International when he traveled with them to the Dominican
Republic in 2000. Seeing new people and meeting new people were exciting for him, but that wasn’t why he was doing it. Aquino went because he believed he had something to give. “God gave me this gift to do what I do. I thought it was important to use the skills He gave me,” he said. That experience was so rewarding that in 2001, Aquino went to Palestine to work in Ramallah and the Gaza Strip. His family begged him to stay home. It was too dangerous they said. Political strife in the area led to violence and bombings were a real threat, but there were thousands of people who needed his help. It was impossible to turn his back on them. Aquino was still overseas when the attacks of September 11th occurred. He lost an uncle in the attacks that day and then came email after email telling him to come home. Friends and family thought he was living near the source of the attacks. Nobody would blame him for leaving early. But an amazing thing happened. He was embraced by the culture. The people he was working with
“My biggest supporters came from the fraternity. They made me proud of who I was and what I do.” —Nelson Aquino
06
SPRING 2012
opened up to him. He met Yasser Arafat who offered his condolences and despite his difficulties in being so far from his family, not having the comforts of home, and being scared, Aquino realized something. “It made me realize how fortunate we are – I was – to have a family, education, home, car, money and the ability to work, to be happy and do what I want when I want.” It was clear to him that he needed to continue on with his mission. Despite his family’s pleas, Aquino stuck it out. When he finally returned home, the first thing he did was rush to see his family. Of course they were happy to see each other and wanted to hear of his experiences, but Aquino found himself unable to explain to them how welcomed he felt by people a world away or what this experience meant to him. The ineffable feelings created by that trip stoked his desire to travel and find other people to help. In 2005 he traveled to San Salvador, and in 2010, he traveled to Port Au Prince, Haiti to help the country after it had been leveled by an earthquake. When presented with the opportunity to go, Aquino admits he was nervous, but he didn’t hesitate. He went with a group called Partners in Health and entered the ravaged country just behind the first responders as one of
“It made me realize how fortunate we are - I was - to have a family, education, home, car, money and the ability to work. To be happy and do what I want when I want.” —Nelson Aquino