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By Kathleen S. Carr '96
“Come Alive”
Mark Shriver ’86, head of U.S. operations for Save the Children
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Harold Whitman
At Holy Cross, we often speak about striving to live in a manner that will allow us to be “men and women for others.”
Mark Shriver is following that mandate. He has been seeking and living his passions since he first set foot on Mount St. James.
We chatted recently about how Holy Cross influenced him. How the Jesuit ideals of contemplation in action have dictated his career. This concept of social justice was instilled in Shriver while he was growing up, attending Jesuit high school and studying and living at Holy Cross, he says.
Because of these ideals, Shriver learned to observe and respond to the needs of his community.
Appointed head of the United States operations for the Save the Children charitable organization, he has a long history of youth advocacy. At the outset, Shriver worked with then Maryland Gov. William Schafer and witnessed the deinstitutionalization of juvenile detention centers. He saw children heading back into a community that lacked the necessary programs to help them make this transition. As a result, Shriver took action and started the Choice Program, whose mission is to empower youth and engage families in need of supportive services. The not-for-profit organization, administered by The Shriver Center at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, is now national in scope—it has been replicated in California, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The quote by philosopher Harold Whitman above can be found on the Choice Web site. It is a reminder of the importance of seeking, and living, our passions.
In 2003, Shriver wanted to do more. Taking on the role of managing director for Save the Children, he currently runs the organization in the United States. His work allows him to pursue his passion for alleviating the social injustices experienced by poor children every day, and then change their lives.
Men and women for others, in action.
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“In Response to War”
Bernard Trainor ’51 publishes book on Iraq conflict
Retired Lt. Gen. Bernard E. Trainor, USMC, ’51, served in Korea and completed two tours of duty in Vietnam. Following retirement from the military, the highly decorated veteran continued to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In addition to his military and political service, Trainor has become the people’s spokesman. A former correspondent for The New York Times, he is currently a senior military analyst for MSNBC. The recipient of numerous accolades, Trainor strives to portray the true consequences of war. I caught up with him as he was promoting his second book, Cobra II, in New York. Having just spoken at a New York Times forum, he was headed to an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews ’67.
Cobra II, by Trainor and Michael R. Gordon, is a contemporary history, depicting the decision, planning, execution and aftermath of war in Iraq. Trainor emphasizes that his book “covers not just a slice of the war, but also the political, diplomatic and military aspects of it.”
According to The Washington Post, the authors “… show that the U.S. military’s tactical brilliance during the war’s early stages came despite the strategic miscalculations of senior civilian and military leaders—and that the Bush team’s misjudgments made the current situation in Iraq far worse than it need have been.”
Trainor and Gordon are also the co-authors of The Generals’ War, an account of the first Gulf War, published in 1995.
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Give Generously: Charlotte Eyerman ’87
“Holy Cross teaches the importance of generosity,” says Charlotte Eyerman ’87. “We first and foremost must be generous—with our time and with our commitments. Personally and professionally.”
Talking to Charlotte Eyerman felt familiar. We had never met—and our career paths are very different—but the life lessons we gleaned from Holy Cross continue to inform our lives. It’s the question of what it means to be a man or a woman for others. When you live that ideal, it affects everything you do. Your life and your work. And it’s fantastic.
Eyerman emphasizes that she is who she is—a curator of modern paintings at the St. Louis Art Museum—because of the influences she experienced at Holy Cross. She credits the passion of professors Jody Ziegler and Robert Cording for instilling in her the importance of slowing down.
“They made me think, and reflect and appreciate criticism, of poetry and of art,” she says.
During her third year at Holy Cross, Eyerman went to France. When she arrived she didn’t understand a word, but when she left, she was dreaming in French. And her dreams led her to become a specialist in French art. Ziegler encouraged her to consider a career as an art historian and to pursue her Ph.D.—which she did at U.C. Berkeley. She taught art history at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and then became an assistant curator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
“Holy Cross taught me how to share my specialized knowledge in a very accessible way,” she explains. “I’ve led my daughter’s preschool class through art exhibits, and I’ve also led dignitaries. No one should walk into an art museum and feel excluded. Holy Cross taught me how to connect with people and how to live as part of a community.”
Kathleen S. Carr is a freelance writer based in Melrose, Mass. She can be reached at kath.carr@gmail.com.
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