USD Magazine, Spring 1996

ears ago, a popu lar song lamented, " I'd love to change the world, but I don't know what to do." T hat refrain still echoes throughout our society.

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Every day, we confront so many problems - violence, social inequality, corruption and plain old meanness, to name a few - that it often seems as if we should throw up our hands, forget about trying to change the world and think only of ourselves. Fortunately, our society is blessed with a number of people who refu se to believe that changing the world is an impossible task. A few of them are featured on these pages. In our Alcala Almanac section, for exam- pie, you' ll meet alumna Kathleen Dunn Wellman , who never stopped believing she could make a difference for homeless men in her community, and alumnus Todd Cote, who uses his medical training to heal those who might not otherwise have access to medical care and to educate children and families about health issues. In " Faith, H ope and Charity," you 'll discover how university ministry staff provide comfort, coun- seling and guidance to members of the USO communi- ty while encouraging students and employees to reach out to other communities. In "Sowing the Seeds of Success" and "Doing the Right Thing," you 'll see that USO professors are teaching students how to be sue- cessful in today's world, but also are teaching ethical and moral values at the same time. We can take heart that these unselfish people are working to improve our society, but more important, we can take a lesson from them, too. Each of these stories is about people changing just a small part of the world around them and improving life for just a few other people. If every one of us does the same, together we can change the whole world.

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- - - - Michael R. Haskins