By: Maddie W. ‘20

Football season is a staple of the USC experience, and nothing beats going through it for the first time as a freshman. Most first year students spend the fall semester assembling the perfect game-day outfit, bouncing between fraternity tailgates, and navigating an overcrowded campus on their way to the coliseum, but for a select group of freshmen, game-days don’t involve any barbecues on the row or a crammed student section. No, for the freshmen football players, game-days are all about lining up with their “brothers” and watching their hard work pay off. I had the opportunity to sit down with red-shirt defensive linemen Jay Tufele and Marlon Tuipulotu who told me all about their first year being a part of the team, and how the football team takes the phrase “Trojan Family” to a whole new level.

By: Maddie Walsh ‘20

If you have been to the University Village recently, you’ve probably walked past Nail Garden, that fancy-looking nail salon by Honeybird. My initial reaction to having a nail salon in The Village was negative. It seemed extra and unnecessary. With Baked Bear, Cava, and Wahlburgers in place, the additional temptation to spend money felt cruel. Then came this past weekend. I had a free Saturday for once and my nails desperately needed attention. Curiosity and laziness propelled me towards Nail Garden and before I my wallet could protest, I was sitting in one of the high-back chairs with polish colors in hand. Was it worth it? In my case, YES! Keep reading to see the list of reasons why I would recommend the Nail Garden experience.

By: Maddie Walsh ‘20

When building government (BG) elections came around last year, I completely rejected the idea of running for a position as something I would NEVER do. However, when the application to campaign opened this year,I thought why not? I was looking for more leadership opportunities and wanted to be more involved on campus, so I decided to run for president of the Cale and Irani Residential Colleges. At the time, I really had no idea what I was signing up for, but being a part of residential student government (RSG) turned out to be an extremely formative experience.

By: Maddie Walsh ‘20

If you know anything about Catholic families, you know that we don’t mess around when it comes to Easter, and my family is no different. Not only do we attend mass throughout Holy Week and invite my entire extended family over for The Big Day, but we go hard for the forty days leading up to Easter, also known as the holy period “Lent.” For as long as I can remember, my father and I have given up all processed sugar during Lent as part of a symbolic fast intended to strengthen our relationship with God. For someone who eats as much ice cream as I do, that is NOT an easy sacrifice (I guess that’s the point) but it makes me appreciate Easter that much more. Fortunately, there’s always plenty of sugar available to make up for lost time. After Easter mass in the morning, my family makes a ceremonious trip to Dairy Queen for extra large blizzards, soon followed by a buffet of desserts courtesy of my talented aunts and cousins. I look forward to this day all year long. This year, however, I dreaded it.

By: Maddie Walsh ‘20

Surrounding yourself with older and wiser mentors as an undergraduate student can lead to important opportunities and connections, but it can be hard to know where to start. Here’s a list of suggestions inspired by people who have helped shape my own USC experience in the last 2 years.