Conversations

Chris Ayzoukian’s head and heart are in perfect harmony. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition in 1999 and later returned to LMU and the Del Rey bluffs to a get a degree in the Executive M.B.A. program in 2007. Ayzoukian now is director of recorded media with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was interviewed by Janis Rizzuto.

Chick Russell ’75, ’78 is a show producer for Universal Studios. He was interviewed by Aaron Smith.

Young Dwayne Hickman was a TV fixture in the 1950s and early ’60s. As a student at Loyola University, he had a supporting role in the smash hit “The Bob Cummings Show” and, after college, the lead — Dobie — in the groundbreaking comedy “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” Hickman has enjoyed a full career in acting and directing, and another as a painter, which he pursues today. See his artwork here. We spoke to Hickman about his acting career, his friendship on- and off-camera with Bob Denver ’57, and his art work. He was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Young Dwayne Hickman was a TV fixture in the 1950s and early ’60s in a supporting role (while a student at Loyola) in the smash hit “The Bob Cummings Show” and the lead — Dobie Gillis — in the groundbreaking comedy “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” Hickman has enjoyed a full career in acting and directing, and another as a painter, which he pursues today. (See his artwork at here.) We spoke to him about both.

Hawley Almstedt is associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Sciences of the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. Her work focuses on bone development and the prevention of osteoporosis. In between her work and maintaining her own active lifestyle, Almstedt also helps run LMU’s Human Performance Laboratory, which offers to the LMU community a range of exercise, fitness and nutritional analysis services. She was interviewed by José Martinez ’11.

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.)