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Mark Shriver Speaks to Students About His Career
Politician and activist Mark Kennedy Shriver was on Eye Street this week as part of the Library’s annual Career Speaker Series. “You can make a living doing service,” he told the boys. “At the non-profit where I work, Save the Children, we hire lawyers, HR professionals, writers. The people who make a long-term difference in the world are the people who serve.”
A former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Shriver is now president of Save the Children Action Network, which advocates for high-quality early childhood education programs. He is the son of Eunice Shriver, who started Special Olympics, and Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps and the leader of President Johnson’s War on Poverty.
Throughout his talk, Shriver emphasized to the boys that they shouldn’t put pressure on themselves at this age to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Instead, he told them to focus on their relationship with God, and to take advantage of Kairos and other opportunities here at Gonzaga to grow in their faith. “There’s a difference between happiness and joy,” Shriver said. “Joy sustains you through happy and sad times. Joy comes from your relationship with God.”
He added that if there’s one thing they should take away from their education, it’s learning how to write. “It’s lonely work,” he said, referring to the time he spent writing two books, “but if you learn to write, it's going to help you be successful in whatever career you end up pursuing.”
The students asked lots of questions—about everything from his political career to the lessons he learned working with incarcerated youth in Baltimore. “Find out what you’re passionate about,” Shriver said. “And get in the arena. That’s the only way to make change.”
A former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Shriver is now president of Save the Children Action Network, which advocates for high-quality early childhood education programs. He is the son of Eunice Shriver, who started Special Olympics, and Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps and the leader of President Johnson’s War on Poverty.
Throughout his talk, Shriver emphasized to the boys that they shouldn’t put pressure on themselves at this age to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Instead, he told them to focus on their relationship with God, and to take advantage of Kairos and other opportunities here at Gonzaga to grow in their faith. “There’s a difference between happiness and joy,” Shriver said. “Joy sustains you through happy and sad times. Joy comes from your relationship with God.”
He added that if there’s one thing they should take away from their education, it’s learning how to write. “It’s lonely work,” he said, referring to the time he spent writing two books, “but if you learn to write, it's going to help you be successful in whatever career you end up pursuing.”
The students asked lots of questions—about everything from his political career to the lessons he learned working with incarcerated youth in Baltimore. “Find out what you’re passionate about,” Shriver said. “And get in the arena. That’s the only way to make change.”
Celebrating 200 Years of Jesuit Education in the Nation's Capital
