By: Grace Carballo ‘17

The finals schedule is fast approaching, the Thanksgiving leftovers are running low, and my stress levels have soared to new heights. Whether this is your first semester at USC or your last, the last few days of school are always filled with group projects, essays, exams, (oh my!).

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

My Social Innovations (PPD 478) professor, La Mikia Castillo (Price Alumna, National Organizing Director, National Foster Youth Institute) moderated the Black Lives Matter panel last Thursday evening with 4 incredible panelists: Lisa Hines (Mother of Wakiesha Wilson), Melina Abdullah, (Professor and Chair, Dept of Pan-African Studies, Cal State LA) Nyallah Noah, (USC Thornton Sophomore, Black Lives Matter LA Member) and Pete White (Founder & Executive Director, Los Angeles Community Action Network).

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Many people have compared the presidential election debates this year to reality television.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Saturday, as part of the USC Comedy Festival, Vol 3: The Changing Face of Comedy, I attended a Women in Comedy panel featuring Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite), Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole), Cameron Esposito (Take My Wife), and Suzanne Todd (Bad Moms). These comedy creators are writing their own material, starring in their own shows, and creating hilarious original content telling unique stories worth telling.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

On Tuesday, the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation hosted a social innovation seminar called “Delicious Social Innovation” with representatives from 5000 Pies, With Love Market and Café, and Everytable.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

If you’re anything like me, you are pretty pumped to have access to the Spring 2017 schedule of courses. There’s just so much potential and so many courses to choose from; my roommate and I were literally counting down the days before its release two weeks ago. Even if you’re not quite on our level of excitement, I want to make sure you’re aware of the amazing 2-unit courses available to you, regardless of your major. The Courses of Interest page conveniently details courses chosen by the designated departments for students who are not majoring in that particular subject but who might find them enjoyable and beneficial. Nothing like being well-rounded and multi-interested, am I right?

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Saturday, September 24, I had the privilege of attending the inaugural USC Own It women’s leadership summit. Luckily as soon as I heard about it a few weeks ago, I booked my spot immediately, because tickets eventually sold out. To give you an idea of the scale of all this, over 450 students and 65 speakers attended. Own It was started by two Georgetown students in 2013, with the first summit taking place in 2014 and being so successful that it expanded nationwide. The Own It network now encompasses 8 universities including USC, and we are certainly in good company.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Tuesday Rebeca Lane, dubbed “one of the fiercest voices of Latin American hip hop”, spoke to a captivated audience in Bovard, answered questions (in Spanish and English), and performed some of her powerful raps in an event arranged by USC Visions & Voices titled, “Somos Guerreras: Feminism, Hip Hop, and Guatemala.” She was interviewed by fellow musician, Maya Jupiter (pictured below) to start the conversation and performed with DJ Francesca Harding, who is also immensely talented. My little brother, Nick (Class of 2020) and I were among the many in attendance looking to learn more about Rebeca Lane, hear some of her latest music, and get an inside-look at her form of “artivism”.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

If you find yourself trying to evade this question, though it comes up quite often when you’re a senior, know you’re not alone. It’s not too late to take some steps down the path well-traveled, the career path. The Career Center is chockfull of wonderful resources that can help you wherever you may be in your journey. If I could go back in time I would’ve been a regular in their office starting my freshman year. But hindsight is 20/20, as they say, so all I can do now is soak up all their advice and knowledge and connections before I graduate in May and encourage my brother (class of 2020) to check it out much earlier.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Recently, a student asked your hardworking friends at Trojans 360 to create a guide to USC’s libraries and I have volunteered my services for the task. As it turns out, there a lot more libraries available to met than I ever realized. If you want more information about the hours of these libraries or the services available, the USC library website has a whole lot of info.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

My friends keep asking me if it’s weird to return to USC after two semesters and a summer program abroad and the answer is a resounding “Yes!” A lot of other folks who were abroad have had similar experiences of reverse culture shock. I saw a line down the bookstore steps and decided to order my textbooks online only to discover later that my peers were in fact waiting for $6 cupcakes to be dispensed from an ATM.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Campuses across the country recognize that extracurricular involvement increases student retention; basically, students are much more likely to continue their higher education at institutions where they feel a sense of belonging and purpose. To find smaller communities within our huge student body, to pursue new and exciting interests, to get to know new and different people, or to find people with similar beliefs - there’s no end to the reasons to get involved at USC.