Although it was after sunrise, it was a darker kind of Tuesday morning. The sun was starting to peak through, but the streetlights were still on. The air smelled of rain. At the shuttle stop, one student stood looking like he just rolled out of bed; his expression said, “It’s definitely way too early.” I quietly agreed. After all, it was only 7:15 a.m.

Hearing a vehicle coming down Davenport Street, we both turned our heads to the left. And then we saw it: the big, boxy white Creighton shuttle, headlights still on, rumbling down the hill. It stopped in front of us, and we saw only four or five other students’ shadows on the shuttle.

The doors whipped open, both at the same time, and there sat Andrew Gaines, the shuttle driver. He was dressed in a Nebraska red T-shirt and tan shorts that were a bit torn at the bottom. He had a blue baseball cap on that read “Shuttle Services” and a black belt around his skinny waist. His beard is made up of white and gray hairs; his eyes are big and brown. He looked down at the boy and me and showed all of his white teeth in a big smile. I started walking onto the shuttle.

“Good morning, Madeline!”

“Good morning, Andrew! How are you?”

“I’m good, and yourself?” his brown eyes stare up at me.

“I’m good.”

“Glad to hear you’re doing well, Madeline. And welcome aboard.”

He closed the doors and put the gear back into drive, the shuttle starting up again with a shake.

Gaines has driven the Creighton west shuttle for 16 years. On May 9, the last day of undergraduate classes, he will retire.

“I like seeing people coming into a place with goals, dreams and desires,” Gaines said. “And then I like seeing the process, seeing the people overtime meeting those goals and keeping those dreams. I like being part of that process.”

Not only is Gaines a part of that process today, but he also went through a very similar process at age 15.

Gaines grew up in inner-city Chicago, called “Near North” at the time. He went through grade school and half of high school until he realized it was time to move out of the inner-city.

“I left Chicago as a student to continue my education in another part of the country with a family in a better environment for study,” he said. “I felt like it was dangerous for me to be where I was.”

In the inner-city, Gaines belonged to a local Lutheran church and a social organization called the Prince of Peace volunteers within this church community. Both the church and this organization exposed Gaines to many different environments and people outside of Chicago. This is how Gaines found a better environment, one in which he would be able to thrive.

He and a good friend of his moved to Hamden, Conn. to live with a family of three and attend high school for two years. They lived with this family full time during the school year and went back to Chicago for summer breaks, meaning he was far away from home for a good portion of the year.

“My mother was ambivalent about it because she wanted me to be with her and the family, but she also recognized the opportunity for me to learn and better myself,” Gaines said. “I think she had mixed feelings about it, but she supported my desire to be the best that I could be in whatever I chose to do.”

After graduating from high school, Gaines received a full ride scholarship to Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology at Michigan State.

“I love learning,” he said. “School, I can take it or leave it. But learning, I love.”

He moved to Omaha shortly after earning his master’s degree. He set up an insurance company and worked about 80 hours a week. After a while, he got tired of the long hours and entered retirement. He now drives the shuttle for 40 hours a week.

Gaines has several philosophies he lives by every day. Although he does not identify with a religious denomination, his relationship with God is very strong.

“If you worry, why pray?” asks Gaines. “If you pray, why worry? I trust in God and so as far as I’m concerned, there’s no reason to worry, especially when I’m praying. When I’m praying, I’m asking God to make things better. I’m asking God to make me better. I trust God to be the best. More than I can possibly even envision. I don’t have that vision, only God does. I defer. I do my best, and give God the rest.”

One mantra he learned from his mother: “If a job is once begun, never leave it until it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”

“When I do something, I usually go at it full force,” he said. “I go at it with passion. My mother instilled that in me, and God bless her.”

Going at it with passion, in Gaines’ perspective, is putting on a happy face every morning. He claims his number one job in life is to be happy. He wakes up in the morning, thanks God for another day and thanks Betty (his life partner) for being in his life. He tells her he loves her. After that, his job is to be happy.

“If it is to be, it is up to me,” Gaines said. “I say that to myself. You wanna be happy? Okay, look in the mirror and be happy. What are some of the things that make me happy? It makes me happy to brush my teeth, so I brush my teeth. It makes me happy to drink purified water, so I drink purified water. It makes me happy to rub my feet on the wet grass, so I rub my feet on the wet grass. The next thing you know, all these things are coming together, and I’m happy.”

The simplest things in life, such as waking up in the morning, make him happy.

“I don’t take that for granted. I feel very blessed to wake up in the morning. So when I wake up in the morning, I get a smile on my face, and I say ‘Wow, thank God for another day!’”

There are two characteristics that separate Gaines from other shuttle drivers: he knows every person’s name, and he sings to his riders in the morning.

He puts a lot of effort into remembering people’s names. It takes him about two weeks to get names down. He will even start taking notes on who’s who before fall break every year so he does not forget.

“Andrew devotes an immense amount of time and energy into remembering every student’s name, and I know how important that is to him,” said Mike Rios, a graduate assistant at the Creighton Center for Service and Justice and a regular shuttle rider. “Whether or not a student responds joyously, Andrew will call each by name and tell us individually to have a wonderful day.”

He does emphasize a specific reason why names are important, however.

“The reason why I remember names and the reason why I’m so passionate and so driven to remember names is because the name that a person has is something that they get from their parents,” Gaines said. “Usually the most important people in a person’s life are their parents. By remembering that name, I’m honoring that important relationship that that person has. I’m showing respect to [a student] and [a student’s] family by that name.”

Alvin Samuels, a third year dental student and regular shuttle rider, saw this respect when Gaines came to his father’s funeral earlier this year.

“Andrew is more than the star of shuttle services,” Samuels said.“He serves as a mentor, a motivator and a friend. When my father passed earlier this year, Andrew received word from friends of mine, and he was kind enough to attend my father’s wake and express his sympathies with me and my family. He is simply a good man.”

Rios, who volunteered in Ecuador for a year after graduating in 2012, rode the shuttle for the first time this fall, assuming that he would have to remind Gaines who he was.

“He pulled up, I got on and was greeted with ‘Mike Rios! Welcome back, great to see ya!’” Rios said. “It was like I never left and I can still consider us friends who share stories and keep up with each other’s lives.”

As if it’s not enough to show he cares about students by memorizing their names, he sings an uplifting song to all of his riders every morning.

“I want [the students] to know that I’m engaged with [them] and that I’m with [them] as [they] go about achieving [their] goals to make [themselves]the best [people they] can be,” Gaines said.“Doing whatever it is that [they] might find [their] passion for. I want [them] to know, as much as possible, that I’m with [them].”

This is why, he claims, that the songs he sings are uplifting and happy. It makes the day easier for everyone, including himself.

“Andrew puts so much effort towards being a positive presence in the daily lives of students,” said Arts & Sciences senior and regular shuttle rider Elycia Kazemian. “In the morning, often times people are not in the best mood. Andrew tries to make the morning ride to school as positive and optimistic as can be. He really improves my mood in the morning.”

“I love that Andrew takes the time to get to know everyone’s name and major,” said Arts & Sciences junior and regular shuttle rider Carly Doctor. “He makes you feel valued as a person.”

On that dark Tuesday morning, as Andrew arrived at the Creighton Medical Center, he reached for the black P.A. microphone and with a huge smile, sang into it.

“Oh, what a beautiful morning. Oh, what a beautiful day. I’ve got a wonderful feeling everything’s going your way today.”

He then goes on to add:

“Which is, terrific Tuesday. In español, excelente Martes. Thank you so much for riding my shuttle. Good luck with any challenges you may face today. Have a great day, and feel free to enjoy terrific Tuesday.”

Andrew Gaines, who has driven the west shuttle for the past 16 years, will retire on May 9. He knows every rider’s name and sings to his riders every morning.

Madeline Zukowski/The Creightonian