Gus Hardy ’16 is a Jesuit volunteer at the largest homeless shelter in Montana. He says it’s a hard job requiring a great deal of empathy—a “people skill” not easy for him to come by because he was born with autism. Hardy was the valedictorian at SCU in 2016 and inspired classmates by proving people with autism can achieve great success in college. “In my work I have been called ‘cold,’ ‘impersonal,’ (and far worse) about as many times as I have been told that I am doing the work of God,” he says. But no matter what, “I look each person in the eye and try with everything I can muster to create the empathic connection that seems to come so easily to other people.” Hardy chronicled his path to service with a first-person essay in America magazine, which can be viewed here.