AARP Hearing Center
AFTER LOSS, VOLUNTEERING GAVE STEVE ORSO PURPOSE
Serving others changed his life
Rachel Wisniewski
Steve Orso knew that after his wife died in 2021, he would have to invent a new life for himself.
“I was lucky to be married to her for 33 years, six months, 27 days,” he says. “They were wonderful years, and I just decided quickly that, OK, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life reveling in the memories.”
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A self-described “tech nerd,” Orso in 2023 found a new life volunteering with AARP Pennsylvania, a life that allows his social side to blossom. “It’s been a bit of a change ... because it’s given me a purpose, and it’s allowed me to continue my identity, but to do so as a very social person, somebody out in the world,” says the Easton resident.
He stumbled upon the opportunity when he took his personal documents to a shredding event and ended up so intrigued by AARP that he asked how he could get involved. At the next shredding event, “I was there being cheerful and helpful and getting stuff out of people’s cars and helping prevent identity theft and decluttering their lives,” he says. He was also doing his best to be a cheeerful presence. “I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use another smiling face,” he says.
Orso, 69, quickly became a Swiss Army knife volunteer. His expertise is in tech, where he spent decades in information technology, help desk support, training and compliance. But he can just as easily slip into the role of tax preparer or walk guide. And he’s an expert troubleshooter and problem solver. When a pickleball instructor didn’t show up for one of the events, he made a call and told the participants everything was fine. The instructor was simply stuck in traffic. He’ll even accompany a volunteer speaking for the first time with the AARP Pennsylvania Speakers Bureau to make sure their PowerPoint runs smoothly.
Kellie VonStein, AARP Pennsylvania’s associate state director of outreach and advocacy, finds Orso indispensable. He solves technology glitches. He writes manuals to help other volunteers navigate the volunteer portal and use iPads to check people in and out at in-person AARP events; some of those manuals have been distributed throughout AARP.
“There’s a lot of things that I have to do that are very technical,” VonStein says. “That isn’t my skill set, and he’s just phenomenal,” she says. “To get a volunteer like this that still is like someone that could actually be working is just beyond belief for me, and he’s good at just regular volunteering, too, like tabling. He’s just such a people person. And he’s funny. I mean, just top notch, top notch.”
‘MAKE A DIFFERENCE’
Orso discovered his love of computers in his senior year of high school. “Although I retired in 2012, I’ve never really put down messing with computers and doing things to make them do interesting things,” he says. “And AARP has ... a real good way to make that a bit of fun.”
He retired as the manager of global infrastructure for Minerals Technologies Inc., a company that sources, manufactures, sells and distributes minerals and mineral-based products and services, according to the company’s website. The company spun off from Pfizer, where he also worked.
To Orso, curiosity is a constant. He once dug into the history of steam engines and how they are built. He learned how to fly a plane and even owned his own aircraft for eight years.
He’s also the AARP liaison to the Northampton County Digital Navigator Coalition that works to close the digital divide and address barriers to digital inclusion. With AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, Orso helps people prepare their taxes and is required to keep up to date on new federal and state tax laws.
“He and I work together as portal champions,” says Lehigh Valley AARP volunteer Karla Koehl. The pair train new volunteers on the portal and work with the Speakers Bureau. Before that, she trained Orso. “He’s kind of, for everybody, the technical go-to person.”
Orso says one of the many benefits of volunteering with AARP is forging new friendships and meeting people. “And that’s really the treasure for me because when I was working, and certainly when I was younger, I was not particularly social,” Orso says. “It’s a good group of people, and it’s also nice to do some things that make a difference in the world.”
More on Volunteering
- Explore AARP Volunteer Opportunities
- Read Stories of AARP Volunteers Making an Impact
- Learn How to Nominate Someone for AARP's Top Volunteer Award
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