“Take the initiative and don’t just sit around” became a guiding principle of Dylan’s life, and it has paid off. The determination to work hard and seek out every opportunity helped him get into Cornell University for undergraduate and master’s degrees, and Columbia University for law school, while maintaining leading grades the whole time.

Senior year of college, when Dylan was running out of funds, not knowing if he could finish his degree, he dug deep and joined the local fire department in Ithaca, N.Y. That way, he would have a place to live and money to finish his studies. While not the most physically imposing fireman, he was the hardest worker, and he ended up staying on for four more years after graduation. Today, he thinks of that era as one of the most rewarding challenges of his life.

Father O’Reilly’s appreciation of the humanities and poetry, particularly the works of Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, have also colored Dylan’s life. The two of them shared conversations about developing as a whole person, always exploring new opportunities and doing more. This encouraged Dylan to write and compose music. He attributes his writing talent not just to Fr. O’Reilly but to Walsh Jesuit, where he learned how to write essays. The rigor of writing in high school proved to be valuable throughout his college years and into his eventual legal career.

Following serious health concerns, Dylan left the practice of law and returned to his first loves of writing and music. The music career started at Walsh Jesuit with two classmates, but it was fostered by the grit instilled by Fr. O’Reilly. After college, as a new resident of Los Angeles, Dylan sent his music to the hottest radio station in town. After some relationship building, the 20-year-old tape ended up in regular rotation on the air.

To this day, Dylan consistently builds new relationships to grow his music. He stays connected to new musicians as a producer, and to famous bands as a fellow performer. The music he makes today is under the name Lost In Stars. He says Fr. O’Reilly, who showed him how to live the Magis from 1984 until his passing in 2018, is consistently with him and his music in spirit and joy.

Recently, Dylan’s son found an unpublished novel Dylan had written in the graduate creative writing program at Cornell. It was a “Fr. O moment” when his son said he should not leave the novel to rot—that he should get it published. The novel is currently being reviewed for publication, and Fr. O’Reilly would surely be proud of that.