As science-fiction fans in high school, Tyler Schwartz and his best friend joked about which of Marvel’s Avengers they embodied.
Now they are playing real-life versions of those superheroes — dressing up as The Avengers and visiting local pediatric hospitals — as their way to give back to the community.
Tyler Schwartz, center right, a senior studying exercise science, co-founded The University of Toledo Avenger’s Assemble group with his best friend, Brayden Holloway, center left, a junior studying chemical engineering.
The idea came to Schwartz, a senior studying exercise science with a pre-med concentration, at the end of his freshman year.
“In my personal life, my family’s experienced a lot of loss medically, with cancer battles and such. I was able to see the impact that positivity and optimism could have,” said Schwartz, who is from North Baltimore, about 45 minutes south of Toledo. “Seeing a family member or friend come in and visit was really rewarding for me. And I saw the impact that could have for people. So, I wanted to do it in kind of a unique way.”
And naturally, he wanted his best friend from high school, Brayden Holloway, who’s now a junior studying chemical engineering at UToledo, to join him.
With Schwartz as Ironman and Holloway as Captain America, the pair co-founded The University of Toledo Avengers Assemble (UTAA) group.
Now with more than 70 members, the organization works closely with the Ronald McDonald House and the Children’s Miracle Network to bring hope to families who need it most.
Schwartz vividly recalls those moments he knows he made an impact. Seeing a child’s face light up when they meet Ironman is one of them.
“You know, it’s little things like that that we’ve put a lot of work into it,” he said, “but a five-minute interaction like that makes it worth the two years of work to build to where we’re at.”
Although the group has struggled with COVID restrictions in hospitals, they pivoted to help elsewhere in the community with a more hands-on approach alongside local charities and organizations.
Schwartz
“It has been a great experience being able to give back to a lot of great causes,” Schwartz said. “And one of my favorite parts of it is while we do some national charities, we try to keep a lot of our work local, with organizations like Ronald McDonald House, Veterans Matter, Cherry Street Mission and St. Paul’s Homeless Shelter.”
Yet Schwartz attributes some of his success to the support he has received from the University.
“The advisors, the professors, the people here, they just care so much about each other,” he said. “I think it’s a really great environment and I have been lucky to have a lot of really great education opportunities and even better extracurricular opportunities with some of the charity work I have been able to get started.”
Dr. Deborah Hendricks, director of the Pre-Health Advising Center, has worked with Schwartz throughout his time at UToledo and has watched his growth.
“Tyler is an amazing human being who is actively working to improve the lives of those around him,” Hendricks said. “I send new students to him on a regular basis through our Rocket2Rocket Mentoring Program. His mentees tell me how much they appreciate his leadership and that he authentically cares for them.”
Schwartz as Ironman.
As a junior, Schwartz was accepted into The University of Toledo’s College of Medicine and Life Sciences through the MedStart program, meaning as a senior he has been able to focus on the Avenger’s Assemble group with the vision of longevity for the group.
“I love this University but it’s my last year here,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about that. So, I’m not going to be here, but I want UTAA to be here.
“It doesn’t have to be the biggest organization on campus,” Schwartz added, “but we want to keep that same passion and pass that down to the younger generations of students to give them the same experience we’ve had to interact with those families and touch lives and have their lives touched.”
After this school year, Schwartz will begin his next chapter as a medical student, with the intention of becoming an orthopaedic surgeon. But he wants to continue to give back to the community.
“My goal is to give back, but maybe in a different capacity,” he said. “Being able to start providing healthcare for people who don’t have regular access to it, I’m looking forward to that.”
