To the students of Loyola Marymount,
What unique and challenging times we live in. No one alive today has been through anything like this before. It is directly affecting everyone across the globe and so in the truest form of the phrase, we are all in this together.
Throughout my life and career I have been driven by the pursuit of truth and knowledge; an insatiable appetite to discover new ideas, learn from others, and prepare myself for opportunity. This endless journey has provided a solid foundation empowering me to be flexible in uncertain times.
Perhaps at no other time in the history of the world has so much information been available at your fingertips. You are able to reach out directly to the actual humans making new discoveries, sharing your passions, and helping others. This requires nothing more than a computer, a connection to the internet, free time, and curiosity. If you are reading this you have the first two covered, our current situation has probably freed up quite a bit of the third. You are on the hook for the fourth.
As you make your way through life you will come to realize (if you have not already) that the only true constant is change. You will move up and down Maslow’s pyramid. For every quality and metric you can imagine there will always be someone with more, and someone with less. Throughout your life you will cycle between both in various times and categories. Continue to seek out knowledge and opportunities. The well rounded Jesuit education you have received at Loyola Marymount will provide the platform you need to place you, more often than not, in a position of abundance accelerating your ability to help those in need.
-Michael Oliver ’05
