Wave Wire Services
INGLEWOOD — Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis urged graduates of Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School to live their lives bravely.
“Will you feel you are at war for living your truth? Yup,” Davis told the crowd of more than 30,000 graduates, guests and LMU faculty and staff members during an in-person ceremony at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. “Will you at various times feel like you’re standing alone? Yup. Will you be ostracized? Um, maybe. But the reward is that you will feel alive.”
Davis delivered the keynote address for the university’s 109th Commencement Exercises — an event honoring the LMU undergraduate, graduate and Loyola Law School classes of 2020 and 2021. Last year’s commencement exercises were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Davis is a member of the elite group of actors who have achieved the triple-crown of acting — Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards. She’s also the most-nominated Black female actor in Academy Award history.
Most recently, Davis was honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award and nominated for an Academy Award for her lead role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
