Volunteer Spotlight: Nicole Gordon

This week, we’d like to put the volunteer spotlight on Nicole Gordon! This is Nicole’s third year as a tutor here at Cabrini Connections where she’s been offering help and guidance to LaRoyce Ratcliff (a.k.a. Chucky), who started the program the same time that she did. She has been very flexible with both Cabrini Connections and Chucky, her student, trying to accommodate Chucky’s schedule as well as the fact that he has a very long commute to Cabrini Connections each week. Nicole and her husband, Peter John Flory (pictured below with Nicole and Chucky) have been enthusiastic volunteers and mentors constantly offering to go above and beyond. For example, Nicole is involved with the art club, which meets on Monday nights. There, she shares her considerable artistic talent with our youth, three of whom are pictured with her above, encouraging them to develop their own skills and techniques.

We are especially lucky to have Nicole with us because she is a professionally trained, up and coming Chicago-area artist! She studied art in Italy at Lorenzo Medici University and then got her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Michigan. Check out her amazing art on her website www.nicolegordon.com or in a number of galleries, museums, collections or public facades around the Midwest and East Coast. Astute viewers may note that her unusual style is fueled by inspiration from well-known Medieval and Renaissance artists. Her artwork explores the complexity of human nature and illustrates human weakness throughout history allowing viewers to have the opportunity to study and question, themes that she emphasizes as she works with our youth .

Thanks Nicole for lending your time and talents here at Cabrini Connections!