Our recent alumni include individuals pursuing a number of successful career pathways.
José Martinez '11
Theological Studies major
What are you doing now?
I am currently a second year student at Stanford Law School. After graduating from LMU, I worked as a community reporter for KPCC, a Los Angeles-based NPR affiliate, from 2012-13. I then worked for an employee communications startup in the Bay Area as a writer until mid-2014. Finally, before starting law school in August 2014, I completed a summer internship at O'Melveny & Meyers, a corporate law firm in San Francisco.
How did your THST major help get you there?
Being a theology major taught me two important things: first, I learned the importance of thinking critically about beliefs and assumptions I'd taken for granted all my life. Second, I learned how to communicate that type of critical thought, particularly through my writing. While this process was sometimes challenging, the convictions I arrived at as a result ultimately felt more genuine.
How did your THST major impact your vocational discernment?
Being a theological studies major at LMU means being surrounding by thoughtful, brilliant faculty as you ponder the meaning of life, God, and self. I didn't walk away with all of the answers – or even many of them – but I certainly left knowing how I wanted to address life's questions.
Emmy Aceves '10
Theological Studies minor
What are you doing now?
I am currently in my third year at Loyola Law School. Previously, I received a Master's degree of Social Work at USC. I have also served in the St. Joseph Worker Program, as a school counselor for the El Monte City School District, as a guardianship intern for the Alliance for Children's Rights, as an impact litigation intern for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, and as a racial equity project intern for Legal Services of Northern California.
How did your THST minor help get you there?
My THST courses and minor helped me develop critical thinking skills that have been integral in life and law school. I also learned a lot of vocabulary and academic concepts of social justice that allow me to think about justice in different ways, which ultimately makes me a better advocate. Basically, I have a more robust understanding of justice based on different THST courses I took, like Catholic Social Teaching.
How did your THST minor impact your vocational discernment?
My THST courses pushed me to not be complacent on my journey in discerning my vocation, and to not be scared to continue following my heart and mind until I find something that makes me feel whole in different areas of life, including my faith/spirituality, and passions. I am also grateful for all the support that the THST Professors have offered me over the years, because their network of support really creates a space for students to thrive.
Kevin Brown '08
Theological Studies / Political Science double major
What are you doing now?
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Systematic Theology, Boston College. I previously received my M.A. in Theology from LMU (2011). I also worked as a Donor Relations Assistant at LMU (2008-2012) and Director of Liturgy and Worship at St. Anthony Shrine and Ministry Center in Boston, MA (2014-2015).
How did your THST major help get you there?
The THST major and the courses I took taught me to think critically about the problems facing world today and what communities can do to confront them. They taught me how to ask questions about topics I once thought were settled and unquestionable. Through my courses as a THST major, I was challenged to engage the Christian tradition and the traditions of other faith communities to ask how the church, and all religious communities more generally, can respond to matters of injustice in the university, church, local community, and world.
How did your THST major impact your vocational discernment?
I remember, in my first THST course, Prof. Daniel Smith-Christopher telling my class to pursue questions and, ultimately, a vocation that "burned in your bones." As I continued through the THST major, I came to discover that the questions that burned in my bones were the very questions I was being challenged to ask in my theological studies courses. When I thought of the joy I experience while engaging those questions, I could think of no better vocation than inviting and teaching others to engage them as well.