by Meghan Pistolesi '19
Before arriving to campus, all first-year students, including myself, were assigned Tattoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle L.H. D. ’14 as their First Year Reading. In his book, Boyle illustrates his personal journey of creating Homeboy Industries in the 1990s gang-capital of the world – Los Angeles. Coming from the perspective of one born and raised in the hills of Northern California, my understanding of gangs and gang violence was like a foreign language: close to none. Father Boyle, however, opens the minds and hearts of readers, like myself, who view gangs as an incurable problem and shows them that the root of the issue lies in misunderstood individuals lacking love, hope, and attention.
Father Boyle is a Jesuit priest who founded Homeboy Industries in 1988. With a passion to make a positive change in the world, Boyle and his ever-growing team have been able to help more than 10,000 former gang members hoping to redirect their lives and become positive influences in their communities.
In late September, students, staff, and community members of Whittier College welcomed Father Boyle, to give an inspiring, heartwarming speech at the College’s New Student Convocation about the power of kinship and his journey behind the formation of Homeboy Industries.
Boyle had no trouble keeping members of the audience engaged in his convocation speech. He was exactly how I imagined him while reading the book. He accepted anyone that came to him with open arms and had the motivation to help others if they put forth the same effort. He talked about some of his stories that were in the book, as well as ones that were new to me.
Though his physical appearance shows no similarities to what most imagine a close friend of gang members, Boyle had the personality to make acquaintances with anyone that crossed his path.
He easily related to the “homies,” as he calls them, in ways I would have never imagined. One of Boyle’s most noteworthy stories was his diagnosis with leukemia. At first, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis (or mono.) After his treatment for mono was not working, he was reevaluated and diagnosed with leukemia. “A bad diagnosis can’t get to a good treatment plan,” he said. “And this can relate back to gang members as well. Individuals that turn to gangs do so because they all deal with similar issues and have no other options.”
Boyle was able to communicate with anyone, no matter his or her background or situation, and made himself available to the “homies” whenever they were in need. This was one of his main points in his speech; if we gave love, hope, and attention to the broken, they could be fixed. We can’t separate ourselves from others, but rather come together to improve one another.
Throughout his speech, it was hard for me to see him as anything less than the most caring, hard working, humble, and generous person. But when asked what he does in his free time, or what he does when he is “away from work”, he put in his own words simply that he doesn’t look at what he does as work. “That’s how you burn out,” he said. He does what he does because he enjoys it. “I do get tired, but not a bad tired,” he added. “I’m exhausted in love and how does that not make you happy?”
Boyle shines as a true example of one who enjoys so much what he does, that he doesn't work a day in his life and makes such a positive difference in the lives of others.
Watch video of Boyle's speech.
