By: Antonia Le ‘22

I never thought I’d be kind of person to ride around USC on a scooter. In fact, during my first semester at USC, I walked to every class. I was a transportation purist, intent on achieving my daily 10,000 steps. Everything changed when I registered for classes for the spring semester. Against my best intentions, I found myself having a class in Taper Hall ten minutes after my class in Kaprielian Hall ended. According to Google Maps, it takes 11-13 minutes to make the trek, and that’s without anything going wrong. How was I supposed to get from KAP to THH in ten minutes? So, not wanting to be late for class every day, I decided to get a scooter. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to USC. In fact, I believe that scooters are the best way to get around campus.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

Every time I tell somebody that I am taking a 400-level Math class as a freshman, their eyes go wide. I don’t know if they think that I’m smart or insane, or some combination of both. I’m not even sure what I am. What I do know is that my particular class, Math 430 - Theory of Numbers, has challenged me in ways that no other math class has before. I spend twice the amount of time on my Math 430 homework that I do on my calculus homework, and at this point, I’ve begun arranging my schedule around Math 430. Taking a 400-level math class as a freshman, and one as difficult as Math 430 at that, is like diving into the deep end of a swimming pool with no swim experience. If you’re planning on taking a 400-level math class next semester, here are some things I wish I knew before taking the plunge into upper-division math:

By: Antonia Le ‘22

I’m going to keep it real with you: I had no idea what a freshman seminar (not to be confused with a mandatory GESM) was until a flyer was handed to me during orientation before my first semester at USC. I had planned out my four years at USC before I had even made my first tuition deposit, and nowhere in my four-year-plan did I leave a spot for a freshman seminar. That is, until a piece of paper landed in front of me telling me that there existed a 2-unit class at USC called “Writing to be Read.”

By: Antonia Le ‘22

Let’s face it, with midterm season still in full swing and finals season edging closer every day, going to the gym is probably one of the last things in your mind. Even if there was all of the time in the world, many USC students do not take full advantage of the fitness opportunities available to them. Right on USC’s campus, there are two state-of-the-art fitness centers, the Lyon Center and the USC Village Gym, that students can walk in and use for free. It’s normal to have anxiety over going to the gym (especially if you’ve never gone before, or have little knowledge of the machines), but there’s no better time than the present to start your fitness journey. Gym memberships will only get more expensive once you graduate, so if you wanna make the most of your USC experience, here’s some tips for getting over gym anxiety and living your best life.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

After a month of midterms, rainy days, and late nights, spring break is finally here! Your best friend is headed to Cancun, the girl you sit next to is going to London, and your roommate has a plane ticket home for the next week! Meanwhile, you’re still here at USC. But don’t worry, whether you’re stuck here because of work, money, or because you simply don’t want to go home, here are some ways to make the most of your week at USC without emptying your wallet!

By: Antonia Le ‘22

According to Murphy’s Law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. As a woman of science and perpetual optimist, I’m usually the first to tell you that Murphy’s Law is absolute garbage. It’s not even a real scientific law! However, as an intern for USC’s Student Coalition for Asian Pacific Empowerment (SCAPE), I witnessed the effects of Murphy’s Law firsthand. On Thursday, February 28th, SCAPE put on its signature event, inspirASIAN. As part of my intern duties, I had to help the executive board make sure that everything went according to plan (spoiler alert! It did not.). Yet, as I think back on that exhausting Thursday night, what sticks out to me the most is that fact that despite all the bumps along the way, the SCAPE E-board ended up putting together something pretty great.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

The general housing lottery has come and gone, and cancellation/reassignment time is nearly upon us. For many Trojans who were lucky enough to get into the housing of their dreams, it’s a time to step away and think about what’s really important: buying new decorations for next year’s digs. However, some Trojans are faced with much different tasks: trying to get reassigned to any room other than a loft or figuring out how to downsize their lives so that everything fits into a dorm room the size of a shoebox.