About

Hello. I’m Nick Gaston. I am a social entrepreneur committed to working with organizations that seek to empower individuals and communities through education. A graduate of Northern Illinois University, I studied Accountancy and Social Entrepreneurship. I’ve been fortunate enough to have accomplished quite a bit in my 20-some-odd-years, but most people know me for my work in Guatemala. In 2007, I fell in love with the people and country of Guatemala while on a humanitarian aid trip there. Coming away from that trip I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to decreasing worldsuck (yeah, I’m a Nerdfighter). I’ve returned most summers since then. It wasn’t until summer 2014, that the “how” of "how was I going to work towards decreasing worldsuck?" fully came to fruition. That summer I founded Guided Steps Ministry. GSM, in collaboration with Paso a Paso (a Guatemalan-based organization), is dedicated to helping children living in extreme poverty with an opportunity to stay in school, learn important life-skills, and safely play. My professional experience includes time at Caterpillar Inc. and NIU’s Career Services Office. I’ve also held leadership positions in several NIU student organizations; most notably, in the Pleiades chapter of Mortar Board, the Student Accountancy Society, and CAUSE. I have also been an active leader in my hometown church. Most people would call me sassy (first and foremost), reliable, persistent yet flexible, analytical, and big-hearted. I love learning, cooking, reading, mac ‘n’ cheese, period dramas, and hanging out with my family. A more thorough bio is on its way…it will be found here when it does exist… You can connect with me these ways. Here is my blog. [Disclaimer: I can’t promise it will be worth reading (or how often it will be updated), but for those of you (hi, mom!) that want to follow me as I head out on my adventures post-graduation here it is.]