Many view the entertainment industry as one that’s riddled with people who are solely focused on their own personal gain.
Lily Piekos, a first-year integrated marketing and communication major at Pepperdine, is working to break this negative stigma that dominates the entertainment industry by giving her heart and her time to help others in need.
“I feel like my calling is at the intersection of entertainment and service to humanity, which is a really interesting and difficult combination to find,” said Piekos, a 19-year-old Chicago native.
Piekos found this perfect blend in an internship with Wayfarer Entertainment in Los Angeles.
Piekos’ favorite actor, Justin Baldoni, who plays Rafael on popular TV series “Jane the Virgin,” founded Wayfarer Entertainment in order to produce “content that makes us want to be better. A reminder to live life on purpose – to celebrate and elevate the human experience,” according to the group’s online mission statement.
Not only does the Wayfarer group produce socially relevant and uplifting television shows, like their new online series “Man Enough,” which explores traditional masculinity in America, but they also host an event every year through their non-profit organization, the Wayfarer Foundation, called the Skid Row Carnival of Love.
Every January, with the help of over 1,500 volunteers, this carnival provides multiple free services to LA’s homeless population. These services include health care, legal advice, resume building workshops, haircuts, dog grooming, crafts, food and carnival games.
“Skid Row is 50 blocks of man-made homelessness,” Piekos said. “We believe that by giving them the gift of being seen, being heard and being loved, we can help light a spark that brings them out of their situation.”
Piekos grew up with two parents she said “are so in love with each other.” They raised Lily, alongside her two brothers, Matthew, 22, and Christian, 24, in a home where compassion for others was strongly emphasized.
“I have a lot of respect for the human being she is,” said first-year religion major Erin Miller, who has known Piekos since they were both 6. “She has a solid head on her shoulders.”
Piekos contributed this “solid head” to her strong Christian faith which has played a huge role in the formation of her character and in her life as a whole.
“I could say that it is what I breathe … it’s how I breathe,” Piekos said. “I’ve never been so fulfilled and motivated. It’s really exciting just being in pursuit of God.”
This strong relationship with Jesus and genuine love for other people is what drove her toward the internship with Wayfarer.
When given the opportunity to work alongside one’s celebrity role model, many people get caught up in the notoriety rather than excitedly tell their friends about the charitable mission of the organization.
Not Piekos.
Blair Bonifield, Piekos’ sorority sister and a senior integrated marketing and communication major, said that everyone who meets Lily is fully aware of her consistently reputable and humble character.
“She always always shows love,” Bonifield said. “She genuinely just wants to love on you.”
Kaleigh Kauth, junior advertising major and fellow Delta Gamma member, agreed.
“(She’s) vibrant … not just in personality, but in every other sense too,” Kauth said. “She’s just so much goodness in such a tiny human.”
Piekos personifies this vibrancy in many different ways, even when no one is looking.
“Whenever I’m alone, I’ll put in my headphones and pretend like I’m on a live concert tour,” she said with a laugh. “You can probably say that’s my favorite pastime.”
Whether she’s walking the streets of Skid Row, rushing through the halls of Pepperdine, or dancing around to her favorite song in the bathroom, friends said Piekos always has a smile on her face and is joyful in all circumstances.
“We’re called to follow Jesus and the way he lived,” she said. “You have to exemplify the character of Jesus. We’re all children of God. We’re all equal. We have to move through life with love.”
Julie Stratton completed this profile under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield in Jour 241 in spring 2018.
