AnaMichele Morejon ’22 comes from a Fighting Irish family of Notre Dame alumni, but the South Florida native didn’t feel like that was the path for her. Neither was staying in Florida, which was often pitched to her when she was in high school.
“At the time, there really wasn’t a school that I really felt drawn to yet. So, I continued my search, and I found LMU,” she said. “LMU was the last school I found.”
With the familiarity of a beautiful, palm tree-laden setting, and her interest in film programs, Morejon found LMU attractive, but it was the university’s Jesuit values that most appealed to her. “It was so clear to me what LMU stands for; there was just such a clear culture,” she said. “In high school, I did a lot of service and volunteering. To have the opportunity to continue that at LMU and be immersed in a faith community, but also an academic community, was something that I was excited about.”
With a film production major and minors in theology and studio arts, Morejon is also a member of the Honors Program and a co-director in the Christian Life Community. Now a senior, she has bridged her interests, passions, and faith at LMU in ways she could have never imagined. “Things could have been so different,” she said.
The aspiring filmmaker credits the LMU Latino Alumni Association Scholarship she received with helping change her trajectory. “This scholarship opened up everything for me,” she said.
When COVID-19 hit last spring, she realized that “even though things were very different and very crazy, I also was presented with new opportunities to do work that I don't think I could have if we were on campus.” While in one of her theology classes, Morejon was introduced to an idea that she wanted to pursue in her film studies. Having identified a subject for her junior thesis film, she traveled to Washington state, quarantined for two weeks, and met up with her film crew to work on her narrative documentary film. Her film details a woman's journey to provide a different model of priesthood in the Catholic Church.
LMU’s mission and range of offerings continue to inspire her. “Being here, in the direction I see myself heading, integrating my faith and film, I couldn’t see myself doing that anywhere but LMU,” Morejon said.
“Helping fund people’s education can really change their lives,” she said. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today or pursuing the path I am today if I hadn’t been at LMU.”
For more information about LAA scholarships, contact Dan Montoya, Executive Director, Major Gifts, at 310.338.1796. To support other students like AnaMichele, make a gift to the LAA Scholarship here.