As Boston College students scrolled through Instagram on Sunday, many encountered a link to a GoFundMe for BC Dining staff member Gloria Garcia Revolorio, raising money to support her battle against basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
Since its creation, the page has raised over $25,000 from more than 1,200 BC community members.
“The amount of support has been overwhelming,” said William Kelly, the creator of the GoFundMe and MCAS ’26. “I was just on Instagram an hour ago, going through all my stories, and everyone was reposting it. People I don’t even know and don’t know me, but it just seemed like she’s a commonality amongst everyone—everyone has in common that they love her.”
Garcia Revolorio works the cash register at Lower and is recognized by students for her exhibitions of kindness in the check-out line.
“Despite working countless hours a week, every student can expect a warm interaction with Gloria,” the description to the GoFundMe reads. “She is known for her contagious smile and signature lines ‘Tap please’ and ‘Have a beautiful day!’”
Kelly said he was eating in Lower with friends when he found out about Garcia Revolorio’s situation.
“She was making rounds, very nicely telling people that they were closing down [for the night],” he said. “She took down her mask and just started having a conversation with us about what we were doing that night, and I asked her how she was, and she mentioned that she just got some sad news.”
Kelly said he was motivated to help Garcia Revolorio.
“It started eating at me all week,” Kelly said. “I was thinking, ‘How can I do something for her?’”
When Kelly first approached Garcia Revolorio about starting a GoFundMe to support her, she initially refused the offer, he said.
“She’s like, ‘Oh my God, no, no, I can never accept anything from anyone,’” Kelly said. “Then I was like, ‘No, no, I insist.’”
Once he got the go-ahead from Garcia Revolorio, the GoFundMe went live on Sunday morning, Kelly said. Soon thereafter, the page surpassed its initial goal of $10,000 as support from BC students, alumni, parents, and others poured in.
“She always, even through her mask, had a huge smile on her face, I could just tell,” Parker Rose, CSOM ’25, said. “She’s just got this really bright personality and kind of brings a little bit of a smile to everyone’s day.”
Some students said Garcia Revolorio has conversations with them while they check out with their meals.
“She seems to genuinely be listening,” Kelly said. “She’ll ask you follow-up questions on things I told her about days before or weeks before. I always find myself waiting in her line to check out, even if it’s double the wait time, just because I feel like so many people want to kind of interact with her.”
For others, the GoFundMe’s description resonated.
“I started reading more about her story, and I had no idea she was a single mother,” Meena Menon, MCAS ’25, said. “I was just incredibly touched by how hard she’s worked.”
Last spring, Garcia Revolorio won the Mary Kaye Waldron Staff Award, an Ever to Excel Award given annually to a staff member who displays the ideals of BC and improves student life overall.
“I remember everybody was like, ‘Oh, that’s so well deserved,’ and ‘She’s the best,’” Saron Yared, MCAS ’25, said.
In a video featuring interviews of Ever to Excel Award recipients, Garcia Revolorio said she hopes students remember her for the positive spirit she brings to Lower.
“I want you to remember me by my way of being and my daily strength in giving excellent service with a smile,” Garcia Revolorio said. “Also, your motivation to keep fighting for your dreams and achieving your goals.”
With over $25,000 raised since its launch on Sunday, community members continue to donate in support of Garcia Revolorio.
“All I did was listen to her story in hopes that others would listen too if I told them it … and they clearly did,” Kelly wrote in a statement to The Heights.
Update (4/10/2024, 2:14 p.m.): This article was updated from a previous version to reflect that the GoFundMe surpassed $25,000.
