“Humility,” said T.S. Eliot, “is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of self.” I think of humility as medication for pride, which is one of the seven deadly sins…
AUTHOR
Joseph Wakelee-Lynch
Articles by Author
De Colores
After 30 years, De Colores has reached a point when tradition is too weak a word to describe it. The Campus Ministry weekend social justice immersion experience brings together LMU students and the people of Tijuana, Mexico. In 1985, the late Fernando Moreno asked Chris North ’85 to organize a student trip to a Tijuana orphanage North had visited. Three decades later, the excursions, which include home-building or other construction work in the Tijuana community, take place almost every month during the academic year. The bonds grow deeper every year: The people of Tijuana have named a center Casa Loyola in appreciation of the LMU community’s commitment. Today, when LMU students first step on campus, many of them are told, “Make sure you do a De Colores trip before you graduate. It changed my life.”
Soccer Superfans
Jo Blankenship ’16, midfielder and co-captain of the LMU women’s soccer team, began playing at the age of 4. Her idol was Mia Hamm, star of the U.S. national team. Blankenship’s senior year has capped a stellar career: First Team All-WCC; second in total points in the WCC; led LMU to two NCAA tournament wins and the Sweet 16; and set the LMU career assists record. Blankenship has led soccer camps for young players for the past three summers. We talked with her about girls’ and women’s soccer in the United States. She was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.
Letter From Tokyo
“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” (“For the greater glory of God”) still resonates some 43 years after graduating from LMU and living overseas since 1981 in Japan, where Jesuit St. Francis Xavier spread the Word of God.
Higher Ground: Interview With President Snyder
When Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., gave his inauguration address in October, he outlined a vision for higher education based on imagination and creativity and rooted in magis, which he defines as the restless urge to do more for those who are here, for those to come and for the earth itself. A few weeks later, we met with LMU’s 16th president to explore that vision further. Snyder was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.
Manny Romero ’97
Manny Romero ’97 works as the Sacramento Kings’ head athletic trainer where he uses cutting-edge monitoring technology to prevent injuries and improve injury recovery times.
Tony Menendez, Whistleblower
David rarely fights Goliath and lives to tell about it. Tony Menendez, a lone accountant in a global enterprise, did just that after a nine-year battle, and he told his tale when he visited campus Sept. 29.
The Farm Round-Up
Yesterday, Jan. 24, Brenda (Kirsch) Frketich ’06 was included in a front-page Washington Post story about women farmers. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at LMU and now runs Kirsch Family Farms, which has been in her family…
Journey South
For three decades, Professor Rubén Martínez, Fletcher Jones Chair of Literature and Writing in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, has described the intermingling of family, politics, culture and geography from Los Angeles to Zacatecas, El Salvador, and Guatemala City. His roots reach all of these places. In books, articles, interviews and a documentary, Martínez has drawn together the places of his and his ancestors’ lives, erasing borders that separate peoples and nations. When we invited Martínez to write an essay about political violence in Mexico, he gave us a story of his family.—The Editor