Charlie Green '25

Charlie Green '25
Major: English
Involvements: English Honors Society, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Student Affairs Student Advisory Board
Awards: Raymunde McKay, R.S.H.M. Award

At Loyola Marymount University, service is part of our mission. For Charlie Green ’25, an English major from Bethesda, Maryland, this mindset shaped his college experience. “The size, the attention to social justice, and the mission statement just spoke to me,” he shares. 

Green sought out opportunities to get involved upon arriving his freshman year. “Not really knowing where I fit into the world motivated me to get involved in service, Greek life, or whatever it was.” Whether through volunteering with local nonprofits groups and the Pam Rector Center for Service and Action, or tutoring in the writing center, Green could always be found lending his time and talents to community programs. “I think trying to be intentional about the limited amount of time we have here was important,” he says. “How I was spending my time was important to me.”

That dedication shaped not only his worldview but his leadership, too. “Seeing material improvements in the lives of the staff, the faculty, in addition to the students, has been the most impactful,” he says. “I think once you join any community like LMU, it should be a collective interest to improve the lives of everyone on campus.”

While he balanced coursework and campus life, it was his commitment to justice and community that anchored him. “You really have to take risks and do stuff that you are nervous about the outcome for,” Green reflects. “LMU is a great place to learn and try to find a direction for yourself, but it's just as important to leave the bluff and to expose yourself to new things.”

A mentor, Eric Martin Ph.D., also played a vital role in guiding that growth and leading Green to service. “He introduced me to the Catholic Workers, which is this movement around the country that runs houses of hospitality for the unhoused community,” Green says. “I got a fellowship from the English Department and moved into one of those houses to work in their soup kitchen full time. It definitely changed my life.”

When asked to describe his LMU experience in one word, Green chose “lucky,” because “I feel like there was a fullness here that I wasn't anticipating, not because I didn't think LMU would offer that, but just because I could have never expected it.” Of the five Student EXP pillars, it’s no surprise that Live a Life of Purpose is the one that resonates most. “One of the first classes I took through the Honors Program was asking questions about why someone goes to college, what they want to get out of it, and what a meaningful life looks like. I think that was all very clarifying for me in terms of how I wanted to orient my remaining semesters.”

As he prepares for life after LMU, he’s taking with him the relationships, the lessons, and a renewed commitment to building a more just world. As Green has learned, the most meaningful success comes not from what you achieve, but from who you lift along the way.