First Person

Franky Carrillo Jr., now pursuing his LMU degree, was freed In March 2011 after spending 20 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

In 1978, Oxford University published Albert Raboteau’s “Slave Religion: The ‘Invisible Institution’ in the Antebellum South.” It soon became a classic in the field of African American religious history. In 2002, Raboteau wrote “A Sorrowful Joy,” a brief but deeply moving account of his spiritual journey and life crises. We asked Raboteau to write about what led a young, fatherless African American boy to become one of the nation’s foremost scholars of African American religion.

What distinguishes an LMU education from others and makes it unique? It’s all in the LMU experience. Here’s an example: holding in your hand a tile once owned by Pontius Pilate.

David S. DeVito knows money. He knows management. He knows civic and community values and virtues. And he very well knows Loyola Marymount University. All of this makes DeVito an ideal person to provide an update and analysis concerning an extremely important — and all too often overlooked or misunderstood — aspect of the university’s long-term financial health, the university’s endowment.

St. Ignatius taught his followers the examen — the practice of reflecting on the events of the day to detect God’s presence. Although Ignatius intended it for individuals, the concept holds for institutions, too — at least those that genuinely care about their future, as Loyola Marymount does. LMU has just finished looking purposefully at itself, taking seriously the unprecedented challenges and opportunities before it, and confidently determining its way forward.

Graciela Limón ’65, who has taught Latino literature, is best known today as a leading fiction writer. She has written  eight novels, including “The Madness of Mamá Carlota” and “In Search of Bernabé,” which won a Before Columbus Foundation American…

For the past four years, the byline of José Martinez appeared in almost every issue of the Los Angeles Loyolan. Martinez’s range was broad: a critique of a campus policy, a defense of the university’s mission, and even humor, which is a very serious assignment. Martinez, who graduated in May, grew as a writer before our eyes. We asked him to tell us what he learned.
—The Editor

Two years ago, an English professor told us that Logan Metz, a singer/songwriter in a rock band that was making the rounds and becoming known in L.A.’s club scene, was among her best Shakespeare students ever. When we learned that Metz’s musical turf was that fertile soil where folk, country, blues and rock co-mingle, we said, “If he combines the Great Playwright with a genre steeped in human stories, then we have to ask him to write about that.”—The Editor

A special course in the community-based learning model changed this student’s goals in life.