By: Sophia Pei ‘22

Commitment day is coming around the corner. While USC has been in the media for less delectable reasons recently, it truly is an amazing school. After spending a few nights at Berkeley, UCSC, UCLA as well as some privates on the east coast, I’ve decided that USC is the place for me. Here are some reasons why I appreciate USC (as well some things I would like to change).

By: Sophia Pei ‘22

Stressed out because you aren’t doing anything productive this summer? Want to study abroad in China? Want to do research on climate change and its impact on the ocean? Check out USC’s Problems Without Passports course BISC-499: Our Future Changing Ocean. Due to a recent last-minute student dropout, we need at least one more student for this course to continue. As someone who is really passionate about environmental conservation, I would really love for this course to continue. If you’re interested please keep reading!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

It’s important that you know, both for accuracy of pronunciation and the sake of the rhyme scheme that Jujuy is pronounced “Hoo-hooey”. And our road-trip through the northern part of this province in Argentina was nothing short of breathtaking.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

When you’re thousands of miles away from home, everyday annoyances can seem like serious dilemmas, especially when they’re harder to solve in a country you aren’t as familiar with. It’s upsetting but not the end of the world when your laptop malfunctions at USC or your credit card gets lost or canceled, but when you’re several countries away from the nearest Apple store and your bank has no branches in your host country, it can be fairly terrifying to say the least. It happens to everyone at some point or another and just like that, the honeymoon phase is over.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

While all of my USC counterparts are on the homestretch with finals week and the finish line of summer within sight, here in Argentina we are just starting midterms. What a time to be alive!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

My first day in Madrid when I went for a run, I realized as I struggled to find my way home that someone had somehow pickpocket my running arm band of my ca$h (luckily just 10 euros at the time). Like any furious parent, I wasn’t mad, I was just disappointed.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

People always say that the best way to really immerse yourself in a new country is to live with a homestay family, especially when you’re trying to learn a new language. And I’m going to have to agree with the masses on this one, though at first I had my doubts.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

We had a day trip to Segovia, which is a picturesque town about an hour or so from Madrid with a lot of cool history and a pretty rad aqueduct. I would love to say I have no complaints about Segovia because that would be really pleasant and low-maintenance of me, but like my founding father, Jorgé Washington, I cannot tell a lie. In Segovia, I had my first experience having to pay to use the bathroom and if you have ever spent more than 45 minutes with me, you may have noticed I’m big into hydration with a small, small bladder.