I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation:       "The Wisdom of Children" wall

Visitors to the Stritch School of Medicine (Stritch) cafeteria have a reminder that service to others, especially to the poor and underserved, is central to the Stritch educational mission.

The Wisdom of Children, a 26' x 6' collage of more than 300 square ceramic tiles, was installed in the entryway of the Stritch cafeteria in the fall of 2007. The tiles reproduce artwork by children whose lives have been improved by the medical care or health education provided by Stritch students, faculty, and staff during International Service Immersion (ISI) trips. ISI trips are undertaken to Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, including: Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Kenya and Zambia.

The I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation, together with Stritch alumni and friends, provided funding for the tile wall project. In honor of the foundation's generous commitment, the Wisdom of Children was dedicated to the memory of former I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation board member Mrs. Carol Lord Lyman. Mrs. Lyman also was a generous supporter of the ISI program and of Stritch.

In 1941, Ignatius Aloysius (I.A.) O'Shaughnessy established the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation in order to share his good fortune with others. A man who came from humble beginnings and later made his fortune in oil refinery and gas exploration, Mr. O'Shaughnessy always recognized that he and his family were very fortunate. He felt that it was his obligation and responsibility to share his blessings with others. "I believe most of the O'Shaughnessy family, including myself, shares the same beliefs as I.A.," says Garrett Lyman, great-grandson of the founder and a representative of the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation. "It is important to help others if you can--no matter the means and ways."

Since 1987, the I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation has given generously to Loyola University Chicago and Loyola University Health System. The Lyman family has a long history with the Loyola Academy and a special friendship with Lawrence Reuter, S.J., a strong advocate of the ISI program. In addition to these connections, another of I.A.'s great grandsons, Jeffrey Lyman, MD, is a 1997 graduate of Stritch.

"My siblings and I became involved with the Wisdom of Children project because we felt that it would be a good representation of the International Service Immersion program and remind all students and the school of its primary mission," explains Garrett Lyman. "And it was a nice way to remember my mother's and the Foundation's involvement with ISI."

The ISI program enables medical students, alumni, faculty and staff to travel to Latin America and beyond in a service learning experience that provides basic medical assistance and health education programs to the medically underserved. During visits, students work daily in medical clinics and collaborate in health education programming. Among their duties, they conduct basic health interviews, learn about the common ailments of underserved populations and assist the attending physicians.