We Seek Collaboration. We Solve Challenges. We Support our Community. We Spark Creation. We Spur Curiosity. We Shatter Conventions. We Secure Championships. We are Sustainability Conscious. We are Student Centered. We Are SC.
And here are our stories.
- Jason King named dean of USC Thornton School of Music“I see an opportunity with USC Thornton to take an already legendary school and help shape its 21st-century vision of what a music school can be.”
- Kevin Feige, producer and president of Marvel Studios, named USC’s 2023 commencement speaker“My USC experience played such a fundamental part in who I have become, both as a filmmaker and as a person…I’m honored and humbled to be asked to be the commencement speaker celebrating the 2023 graduating class…”
- University names USC field after 11-time Olympic medalist and alumna Allyson Felix“I’m by nature a more reserved, shy person; I don’t usually want to rock the boat. But it was my brother who said, ‘You know you can use your voice, even if it shakes,’ and that really resonated with me.”
- Lives, Not Grades – Ukraine“This is about making an impact, using engineering and innovation to do some good in the world.”
- Two USC Rossier grads partner to reimagine military training“It’s been a great partnership, in that we bring different strengths and experiences to the table but are both passionate about the same thing—developing new ideas and technologies to improve the learning outcomes for these cadets.”
- USC quarterback Caleb Williams wins the 88th Heisman Memorial Trophy“I’d like to thank all my USC brothers. I know we didn’t finish the way we wanted to, but the culture and bond that we found will last forever. As I said, we still have do have unfinished business.”
- Law enforcement veteran Lauretta Hill to lead USC Department of Public Safety“I don’t change who I am — I’m always the same person, whatever audience I’m in … [but] I felt immediately I don’t have to change anything about me. I can be my authentic self at USC because they’re telling me that’s what they want — they want authenticity in their teams.”
- Meet a recent USC graduate using artificial intelligence for health“This work has direct implementation in improving health conditions for people with disabilities or medical conditions. And I’m really, really happy about that.”
- Former South Bay Lakers point guard shooting for medical school gets an assist from USC Dornsife“Both my parents are doctors, so I thought about going into medicine, and being around all the team doctors at Stanford and with the Lakers, I realized I wanted to go into the medical field and hopefully become a team physician myself one day.”
- Inspired by Daughter’s Graduation, USC Marshall Student Joins Online Master’s Program“Don’t stop. Make a plan and just keep going because it’s never too late to make a change or learn or grow. You’re never too old. You could be 41; you could be 60. Just don’t give up on the dream to keep going.”
- Pioneering pharmacy professor learned early to work hard and help others“Most women like me didn’t know what our rights were. When anything would happen to us that wasn’t fair, we just thought, ‘That’s the way it is.’”
- Noel Nichols joins the USC School of Dramatic Arts in 2022 as Assistant Professor of Sound Design“I’m so thrilled to be empowering so many students, especially in a department that is primarily non-cis-male identifying at the moment, in the student body. Equipping them with high level technical skills that are immediately translatable into the greater theatre production world.”
- Award-winning student startup aims to revolutionize brand deals“We started to realize that these brands were spending millions of dollars a month on influencer marketing, but they were not using any software. Everything was done manually. All their data was handled on Excel spreadsheets.”
- Native American PhD candidate presses for understanding of tribal sovereignty by focusing on policy“It’s really having to trust, even though the federal government has not always been great to Native communities, but to trust that our voices are being heard and the voices of those being impacted by ICWA are heard.”
- USC alumna Kim Kircher named LAUSD’s 2021-2022 Rookie of the Year“USC helped me build a foundation for my pedagogy, and I would love to help future educators in the same way.”
- Political science major brings global experiences to bear on societal problems“Just coming into the room with confidence and letting people know that, while people may underestimate me because I’m a woman, a person of color, or someone from a different religion than they are, I am just as knowledgeable, just as skilled, and I deserve a seat at the table.”
- USC alum Buu Van Nygren elected to Navajo Nation president“I’m used to being held accountable in every job. I’m taking that approach. If I don’t perform, I have no business being here.”
- A Trojan Physical Therapist In Uganda“One of the big things that drew me to this trip was the teaching component. It is so much more valuable for us to spend our time educating other practitioners to leave a lasting impression and to hopefully make every subsequent group of students better than the one before them.”
- Jazz Studies alum took advantage of opportunities at USC to compose for jazz and orchestral musicians “The creative process isn’t just when you’re writing it, it’s also when you’re performing it and when you’re mixing it and then when you’re doing the video. So the process of making it just gets spread out and I like that.”
- Nearing 70, USC student proves it’s never too late to get your master’s degree“The actual learning was a redemption. Learning is so much better when you’re older. I wasn’t intimidated by the professors … If I messed up, it didn’t bother me.”
- USC Bohnett Fellow Katrina Manrique says working at the L.A. Board of Supervisors has been an invaluable experience“Public policy isn’t just something you learn in the classroom. I value the fact that (USC) Price understands this on a very fundamental level.”
- Artist noé olivas, draws on his parents’ work ethic and his USC cohort’s encouragement to bring communities together in Inglewood“A lot of my work is very much responding to where I come from, with my family immigrating here, but also where I’m living right now in South Central, and Crenshaw Dairy Mart being in Inglewood.”
- Haylee Mota Can Only See Light and Shadows. Yet She Sees So Much More.“People think you can’t do certain things because of your disability and that just annoys me. I’m stubborn, and I don’t like to be told what to do or what I can’t do by other people.”
- “Looking for a needle in a haystack – in the middle of a tornado.” Sani’s quest to decipher emotions and the brain.“So much of what I did was enabled by the kind and supportive faculty and staff and the resources that I had access to. Being a member of the Trojan family is something that will always stay with me.”
- Advocating for change all the way to Paris Fashion Week“It’s just a really inspiring environment. I knew that with my passion being multifaceted and wanting to be a changemaker and shake things up, being in a space with people who are like-minded to have those same kinds of goals was really important.”
- Trailblazing pilot and flight instructor M’lis Ward is grateful for women who fought for Title IX“I’m so grateful to all the women who really fought for Title IX because my life would have been so different. I hope it’s something that we always celebrate because it really did make such a huge difference for the women of my generation.”
- President Biden appoints USC Professor Shaun Harper to National Board“I accepted this important assignment because it is a consequential opportunity to help inform federal investments into high-impact, responsive, and rigorous research that actually does something to fix longstanding inequities that chronically disadvantage particular schools and long-underserved student populations.”
- Aram and Arminé Chaparyan shared parallel experiences and now both are city managers in L.A. County“We got the highest level of education with the best professors at USC Price so we do all we can to support the university.”
- Ada Limón is a poet laureate for the 21st century, exploring ‘what it looks like to have America in the room’“I’m really interested in what it looks like to have America in the room. And I think the face of America is often someone who is many things.”
- Dorothy Wright Nelson went from dean of the USC Gould School of Law to judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit“I was greatly influenced by my immediate family. It was not a question of, ‘What are you going to do when you grow up?’ It was, ‘What are you going to be when you grow up and what are you going to do for the community?'”
- Jack Tribolet’s leadership skills and devotion to duty as a U.S. Navy pilot have led him to the next chapter of his career as a USC grad student“I would compare flight school to earning a graduate degree. It is a challenging pursuit. You must be able to draw knowledge from paper, then apply it to working with your hands and implementing what you have learned.”
- Divya Jeyasingh looks back on four years, two degrees and countless memorable experiences with the USC Helenes, Swim With Mike and other groups“The Trojan Family is very real. I have gotten to meet incredible students, staff and faculty, which has given me amazing friends and mentors. Everyone’s willingness to collaborate and passion surrounding their interests is contagious.”
- JP Karliak launched Queer Vox to bring authenticity to a growing number of LGBTQ+ characters in animation and video games“I want to make sure that as people come through our digital doors, they are getting the training they’re looking for and the support they need as queer actors.”
- USC student Lucy Westlake is the youngest American woman to summit Mount Everest“It was so surreaI. I was telling myself, ‘You did it. You did it. You did it.’ It’s not all about the summit. It’s really about the journey going up there, pushing yourself and doing the best you can.”
- Two USC pharmacists share an inside look at how L.A. fights the coronavirus at one of the largest vaccination sites in the countryTwo USC pharmacists share an inside look at how L.A. fights the coronavirus at one of the largest vaccination sites in the country.
- Veteran and firefighter who saved countless lives struggled to save his own“I don’t want anybody to carry a burden for 50 years before they get to the edge of the bridge with all these things behind them. If I can develop techniques and training to help someone, that’s what I want to do.”
- USC drama professor leads with diversity in class and on screen“I can’t open my mouth and not talk about diversity. I mean, look at me. I’m incredibly proud to wear that badge — especially at a place like USC.”
- Jennifer Wheeler Kahn breathes new life into old theatre materials as sustainable fashion goods“I accidentally created my dream job, because this is everything I care about: theatre, giving back in ethical style, and access to theatre for a new generation.”
- Elizabeth Daley is grateful for the landmark federal law that helped girls and women to pursue their dreams“What Title IX did is put women in visible roles you hadn’t seen them in before. Title IX was a cornerstone to begin to fight these other battles. It was a huge, huge building block.”