“Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible,” said Helen Keller, American author and disability rights activist. That spirit of optimism infuses LMU’s culture and informs the work of students, faculty, and staff. “Hope, Made Here” reflects the values we bring to life through community, academic excellence, and service, on this campus and by these people.
A survey of LMU’s colleges uncovers numerous examples of hope, made here.
In the LMU School of Education, in the wake of the ICE raids that began in earnest in June, our counseling graduate students, led by Charles Alvidrez, son of an immigrant, set out to raise $500 to support immigrant communities. They exceeded expectations by raising 40 times that amount. This community-engaged activism fuels hope for a better world.
When school psychology candidate Angelica Crawford saw a drop in school attendance for children from immigrant families, she launched a successful grocery shopping and delivery drive within and across a few SOE programs that grew into a volunteer effort that supported more than 100 families. Students making a difference directly bring hope to communities in need.
In the LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts, a performance of Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale” became a lesson in the role theatre plays in resistance and political life. “Live theatre is a critical communal activity,” observed Dean Bryant Keith Alexander of CFA, “one that is only realized between the work of the actors and the present participation of the audience.” And on that summer’s eve, the audience was imbued with the hope that comes from a deeper understanding.
And across campus, CFA’s Laband Art Gallery presented “Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection” by alumni Mary Salinas Durón ’75 and Armando Durón ’76. The exhibit of over 50 artworks from the Durón family collection includes works by renowned artists such as Laura Aguilar, Frank Romero, Judy Baca, and many more. The exhibition, a cooperative effort by CFA, the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, University Advancement, the Latino Alumni Association, and the Inclusive History and Images Project, allowed viewers to trace the development of a vital Southern California community. Hope, that ineffable sensibility, was made in some sense visible.
Connecting with the community is a strength at CFA: ARTSmart is a leadership-development program for LMU students that provides underserved schoolchildren with an education in the arts; Community Dance Project, where LMU dancers and faculty visit high schools to share the transformative impact of movement through lectures, demonstrations and performances; and The Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic, which offers hands-on clinical art therapy interventions to underserved children and families as well as the broader LMU community.
At the LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, hope finds expression in its faculty-student research collaborations. Alex Sturm, associate professor of psychological science, works with students in her lab to advance equity for neurodivergent individuals through research that considers the whole person in all aspects of life.
At StudyLA – the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles – community-engaged research and work was evident in a partnership with UCLA and Purdue University, as StudyLA offered free soil testing to Los Angeles homeowners affected by wildfires. Through the Community Action Project L.A. initiative, the team is mapping and analyzing soil samples to provide critical environmental data, empowering residents with the information they need to support advocacy, recovery, and community resilience.
Inspired by Tony Coelho ’64, principal author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as the guiding spirit, LMU has been at the forefront of disability rights. Now, BCLA’s Amanda Apgar is building a dynamic Disability Studies community at LMU, collaborating with students to launch an open-access database of nearly 500 memoirs by parents of children with disabilities, and co-organizing LMU’s first Disability Studies conference with the Coelho Center and UCLA. On Feb. 21, 2025, more than 250 participants joined interactive workshops, explored faculty and student research, and connected with local organizations — all reflecting the program’s commitment to cross-disciplinary dialogue, advocacy, and community engagement. She also directs LMU’s new Disability Studies minor, bringing the hope of building better lives to LMU’s research, collaboration, and community engagement.
LMU Loyola Law School has contributed to the effort of “Hope, Made Here” by initiating the Binational Migrant Advocacy Project, a partnership between the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic at LMU Loyola Law School and ITESO, Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara. Through BMAP, LIJC deepens its commitment to serving migrant communities while also enhancing global legal education with this unique cross-border cooperative.
At the Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering, student and faculty research in public health is stirring hope for patients with Type 2 diabetes. David Moffet, associate dean and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, along with his team of student researchers, are conducting studies that could slow the progression of the disease. Moffet and his team engineered hybrid peptides that inhibit human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide from aggregating and destroying pancreatic cells, which is believed to advance Type 2 diabetes.
Building hope for Indigenous languages, Computer Science Assistant Professor Jared Coleman, along with a small team of researchers, has developed an innovative AI-powered translation tool to help revitalize Owens Valley Paiute, an endangered Indigenous language. “I am a proud member of the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley in California,” said Coleman. “I’ve always been interested in languages and learned years ago that my tribe’s language was critically endangered.”
In 2023, more than 7,000 wildfires across California burned more than 330,000 acres, took four lives, and destroyed more than 150 structures. The damage prompted LMU Professor Gustavo Vejarano to embark on a groundbreaking project that could transform the way we combat future wildfires. Thanks to a grant of nearly $200,000 over two years from the National Science Foundation, Vejarano’s project, titled “ERI: Fault-Tolerant Monitoring of Moving Clusters of Targets using Collaborative Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,” aims to harness the power of collaborative drones to monitor ground activities, particularly during wildfires, with unprecedented efficiency.
Also prioritizing stewardship of our environment, Seaver College faculty and student researchers are investigating the impacts of climate change, with a focus on intertidal mussels. They are measuring how rising ocean temperatures affect these crucial species. Marine mussels are part of a $260 million shellfish industry on the West Coast alone, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “If we can find out the physiological responses of mussels to climate change, we can help inform the aquaculture industry about potential impacts,” said Maria Christina Vasquez, associate professor of biology and the project’s principal investigator. “
LMU’s School of Film and Television, ranked fifth in the nation, has recently partnered with Sony Electronics to launch the Social Impact Filmmaking Lab. By funding and overseeing up to four short films per year, the partnership gives filmmaking opportunities to innovative, rising storytellers interested in transforming society. Keeping with the theme of hope, SFTV graduate student Luca Bueno, M.F.A. ’26, premiered a powerful new film, “Bodies,” at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. Following the film’s success at LALIFF, Bueno spoke about his decision to attend LMU, his experience filming “Bodies,” and the vital issue of immigration at the heart of the film.
Students in the LMU College of Business Administration talked to more than 300 middle school, high school, and college students across Los Angeles about the essentials of budgeting, saving, credit, and investing this past summer through Save It Forward, a free financial literacy initiative led almost entirely by LMU undergraduates. The peer-to-peer format is what sets Save It Forward apart. Arely Cano ’26, a finance and entrepreneurship double major, began as a student mentor in 2024 and has since transitioned to a leadership role as the program’s communications director.
Recently, four LMU CBA students traveled to rural Guatemala to co-lead a weeklong entrepreneurship program designed to help women farmers build sustainable, community-rooted businesses. Their mission: to equip participants with the tools, mindset, and confidence to grow and market their organic food production using the resources already at their fingertips. In partnership with ViviendasLeón, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating rural poverty in Central America, and under the mentorship of Professor Alex Glosenberg and Nola Wanta, the students designed and delivered a seven-module curriculum grounded in storytelling, visual learning, and hands-on activities.
The Student Affairs Division also contributed to “Hope, Made Here” by hosting The Longest Table which brought together over 130 students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni to dine over dialogue in the middle of Sunken Garden. The idea was to create a place where people of all backgrounds and perspectives could share a meal and conversation. The first-time event was a discovery of sharing a meal and conversation. “Our conversation blossomed as we recognized connections, were vulnerable with one another, and all had eagerness to hear each other’s responses,” said Clarke Hamilton ’26, a studio arts major from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “This event is like a seed. It has the potential to sprout connections and relationships with others, as well as engage in conversations intentionally to understand and learn from those with whom you are in community with.”
In these ways and countless more, public and private, celebrated and untold, from art and research to justice and innovation, Hope, Made Here, is more than just a theme, it is a lived reality powered by the LMU community.
