TRITON Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 31

the drive to study under professor
believed to have been destroyed
Frank Biess was enough
decades ago . A DNA test cleared
motivation to adopt a second life
the man ’ s name , and he was
pursuing his degree . For years ,
ultimately released after 39
Livingstone made the 300-mile
years in prison . “ My mindset as a
round-trip to campus for classes
historian and being trained to deal
and to TA for “ Making of the
with archives made me believe
Modern World ,” only to drive back
there had to be something out
home and head straight into the
there that could lead to the truth ,”
station . Despite 4 a . m . mornings
says Livingstone . “ We just had to
grading papers and writing
find it .”
David Livingstone , PhD ’ 18 ( below ) earned his doctorate in history while serving as Simi Valley Chief of Police .
dissertation chapters , Livingstone rose through the ranks to be appointed chief in 2017 and swiftly set out to make change in his department and community .
One of the most profound changes would come from reopening a decades-old murder case that didn ’ t seem right to his historian ’ s eye . Acting on longstanding doubt that the wrong man had been convicted , Livingstone used his archival research skills to find evidence
Whether restoring the life of one man or improving the service to his entire community , Livingstone believes in the transformative power of education , especially in his line of work . “ There is so much in the liberal arts and humanities that can make for better police officers ,” he says . “ History teaches you to weigh the facts and to avoid biased judgments . Now more than ever , we need police officers who can do the same thing .”
“ Being a changemaker means taking initiative , welcoming opportunity , having compassion and expressing gratitude . It means pursuing integrity , not perfection .”
– CHIARA DORIGO , MBA ’ 18 , Rady School of Business graduate whose start-up company , Greyble , aims to make residential water recycling easy and affordable .
“ A changemaker spreads the understanding that we should be working together to help one another .”
– CHRISTOPHER GO ' 16 , member of the International Health Collective , whose community involvement projects and clinic trips alleviate health disparities on both sides of the U . S . -Mexican border .
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