Student Perspectives: 5 Things That Make USC Distinctive
We asked one of our students to talk about what makes USC distinctive. As she describes, it’s not any one thing, but rather a combination of several things. Our writer Katie Mullin is a senior studying Psychology with a minor in Natural Science on the pre-med track. She states, “I grew up moving around, but consider myself to be from Boise, Idaho. I am an Air Force ROTC cadet at ‘SC and am currently planning to work in Intelligence in the Air Force after graduation next month and eventually attend medical school to be a USAF doctor.”
I began at USC in the fall of 2020 as an out-of-state student in the middle of a global pandemic. I moved out of my parents’ house in Boise, Idaho and into an apartment in Los Angeles in August of that year and created my Covid bubble with three other USC students who became my roommates. On the first day of classes, I excitedly put on my USC sweatshirt, straightened my hair and tried to look my best for the Zoom camera. As the pandemic improved and restrictions loosened throughout the year, USC opened its campus for visitors to sit outside. I marveled at the gorgeous campus as I sat in the quads taking my online classes and trying to feel like a “real” USC student. Despite the circumstances, I was ecstatic from day one about where I was and who I got to be because of that USC sweatshirt that I put on.
Unique Learning Opportunities
Due to our open enrollment course policy, USC prides itself on providing an interdisciplinary academic curriculum that offers unique learning opportunities for students. The academic experiences at USC are limitless because course enrollment is not restricted by what you are studying or what department you fall within. In fact, we have General Education requirements that have students taking courses across eight different disciplines including the natural sciences, the humanities, and the arts. USC’s tuition credit allotment is specifically designed to give students space to take extracurricular and elective courses throughout their semesters. As a senior studying psychology with a minor in natural science, I have taken swimming, weightlifting, tennis, piano, a class on digital Hollywood (animation), Spanish and more. Several of my friends have taken a sailing class for which they take a sailing trip to Catalina Island for their “final exam”.
Not only do you have space to take extra electives, but our curriculum is also very conducive to picking up minors or additional majors. There was even a boy in my Organic Chemistry class last year who was Pre-Med but had a music major studying trumpet. One of my best friends is a double major in Italian (in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences) and Communication (in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism). She also has a minor in Entertainment Industry (in the School of Cinematic Arts).
A Global Perspective
You may recognize a symbol of the university in our skyline: USC’s iconic golden globe atop the Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow Center for International and Public Affairs building. This golden globe is a symbol of USC’s global perspective and international diversity. A quarter of USC’s total student body are international students, coming from 130 different countries. That global reach is furthered through our Office of Overseas Studies and academic departments that sponsor over 130 study abroad programs in 50 countries. Junior spring is the most popular study abroad semester at USC, and the majority of my friend group ended up in Europe for that semester. I had the privilege of visiting some of them abroad for Spring Break that year, meeting my friends in Rome who were studying in Florence, Milan and Vienna. I also had friends in Maastricht, London, Lisbon, Zurich, and more.
I always knew that I wanted to study abroad, but between being an Air Force ROTC cadet, a Pre-Med student, and my academic major, I couldn’t be gone for an entire semester. However, USC offers a program called “Maymester”, where you take just one class over the course of three to four weeks abroad. In May of my junior year, I was able to travel to Northern India for a Maymester titled “Death and Gender in Urban Contexts”, in which I visited nine cities and was able to learn so much about Indian culture and religion.
Vibrant Campus Life
Campus life at ‘SC is so vibrant. There is never not something going on on campus! One of my favorite annual campus events is the LA Times Festival of Books. This event always happens in the spring and the campus is essentially transformed into a giant book store! Thousands and thousands of books are sold on campus and incredible authors and speakers join in. The best part is that it is entirely free. I have listened to authors like Max Greenfield (New Girl actor) and Meghan Trainor speak on our campus. USC also puts on three major concerts per year for our students. These happen in the first week of school, as a part of our “Welcome Back” activities later in the fall for “Conquest”, which is the pep rally concert before we absolutely dominate UCLA in football that week; and lastly “Spring Fest”, which is our end-of-year concert. We have had artists like Dominic Fike, Flo Mili, and Rebecca Black in recent years, who are also accompanied by incredible student artists.
Los Angeles
USC has the incredible benefit of being situated in the heart of Los Angeles, just a few miles from downtown. We have a unique opportunity, as the Metro E Line is just on the perimeter of our campus, steps away from our campus gate. This line runs from Little Tokyo in DTLA to the Santa Monica pier, giving students easy access to exploring LA for $1.75 per trip. Less than a 10-minute drive away is the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center), where you can watch Lebron James and Cameron Brink play. Moving to LA from Idaho, I am consistently awestruck every time I see the Hollywood Sign in the distance above USC’s campus, and even more amazed by the famous Griffith Observatory. My freshman year, during online school, I frequented Griffith to soak up the sun outside the Observatory and live my La La Land dreams.
Trojan Family
USC’s Alumni Association consists of over 480,000 living alumni, creating a network of Trojans all over the world. We refer to ourselves as the Trojan Family, and we don’t use that term lightly. I was once in Mexico wearing USC gear and received a “Fight On” from a total stranger–and that happens more frequently than one might expect. We pride ourselves on having the five traits of a Trojan: faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous and ambitious. We say that if you don’t come into USC exemplifying these traits, you will leave with them all, which definitely holds true. I have met the most incredible people at USC who do the coolest things and push me to do even cooler things. As I graduate next month, I am leaving here with friends who will go on to work at a Big 4 accounting firm, who will fly helicopters for the U.S. Air Force, who will work for Warner Brothers, who are going on to become lawyers and doctors, and so much more. I leave USC with a heavy heart, but feel warm knowing that, no matter where I am, I will always be connected to the Trojan Family and may hear a familiar “Fight On” when I least expect it.
Written by: Catie Mullin, Class of 2024