Conversations

Nora Murphy is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. Her research specialty centers on “first impressions” and how individuals accurately detect the traits and characteristics of others in a social interaction, particularly through nonverbal communication.

Mike Smith is a self-proclaimed “geeky artist.” He’s been drawing since childhood, and when he found his old sketchbooks in his mother’s garage, they proved that he was opinionated even as a boy. But his career as an editorial cartoonist…

Greg Mortenson has been building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, emphasizing education for girls, since 1993. His first book, “Three Cups of Tea,” tells the story of how he began that work. Mortenson also is the co-founder and executive director…

Gigi Pascual, who studied business at LMU, launched The Buttermilk Truck, her gourmet food truck, in November 2009. Almost all of her menu items — pastries and other breakfast items — feature buttermilk as an ingredient. She was interviewed by LMU Magazine Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch. (Chase Gigi’s truck at buttermilktruck.com; follow her on Twitter @buttermilktruck. You can also find the Buttermilk Truck at the Abbot Kinney First Friday event most months, unless it has been hired for a private engagement.)