A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Danny Gonzalez

A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Danny Gonzalez

Danny-Gonzalez-1As a youth growing up in Northwest Indiana, Danny Gonzalez spent much of his time at the Portage Township YMCA, participating in various activities they had. Especially if those activities had anything to do with sports.

“It brings a smile to my face every time I walk through those doors,” Gonzalez said. “Seeing all of the little kids and the senior citizens – there’s such a variety of personalities, and knowing that I’m that resource that they’re looking to for medical advice, that’s fulfilling. I really enjoy knowing that people look to me for education and some type of aid.”

Trained as an RN, Gonzalez found his calling working for St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart where they have a partnership with the Portage Township YMCA. Even as an adult, Gonzalez can’t pull himself away from the Portage Township YMCA, serving as their medical onsite aid several days of the week. While the YMCA takes care of the physical aspect of staying healthy, Gonzalez takes control of the medical aspect, wanting to bring about more awareness in regards to health concerns.

‘I’m trying to be proactive outside of the hospital, and to teach others how to be preventative and how to take preventative measures,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just glad that I can use my medical training to assist people in making their lives better.”

Having had experience working in the IMCU, the ICU, and the ER, Gonzalez is more than qualified to attend to medical situations that may arise at the YMCA while waiting for emergency responders to arrive. Recently, a patron collapsed and Gonzalez was able to get the patient’s heart beating again while the emergency responders where en route.

“This experience has been second to none,” Gonzalez said “being able to be used in a purposeful way. At St. Mary, there’s a saying: ‘It’s amazing how broken hearts are saved when you mend just one.’ Helping just one person touches so many other lives. Having a calling to help people better their lives – that’s going to be a memory that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.”

Through his position, Gonzalez has also developed a relationship with the area’s schools, conducting a program called Launch, where he teaches three different third grade classes. The main concern of this program is to teach the kids the importance of healthy eating, learning new exercises, and the importance of overall health in their everyday lives; focusing on a different featured topic every week.

“I’m really trying to engage the third graders in how to live a healthier lifestyle,” Gonzalez said. “To be aware of the options that are available to them, so that they can reach their full potential in their lives, and live to a healthy age.”

In his spare time, Gonzalez enjoys volunteering for a variety of organizations, including serving as a volunteer basketball coach for 10-13 year olds at the Portage Township YMCA. He also serves on the Portage Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and the Senior Advisory Committee. Gonzalez also enjoys being the assistant coach for Hobart Middle School, and just received his official license in Indiana that allows him to officiate games.

“There was one situation when I had one grandmother approach me and tell me that me being an active male figure in her grandson’s life, she had seen drastic improvements in her grandson’s life – in basketball, in his grades, in his abilities to make new friends. That was just a huge wow factor for me, and doing it on a voluntary basis, that makes it that much better,” Gonzalez said.

Currently, any spare time he has left after work and volunteering is spent with his wife, preparing for their first child, which is due to arrive any day.