UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
STUDENT BLOG
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Navigating Your First Year as a USC Trojan
by Lanie Brice
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Navigating Your First Year as a Spring Admit
by Lanie Brice
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How to Balance Your Social Life During Finals
by Donal Buckley
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Study Tips and Habits to Get Through Finals Season
by Lauren Liang
looking for a specific read?
Work on it Wednesday: Elevator Pitch / Long Term Career Planning
By: Emily Young MA ‘16
An elevator pitch is a speech designed to capture someone’s attention and answer the universal question “tell me about yourself.” In about 30-45 seconds, the length of an elevator ride, you should get across who you are and what you aspire to become.
Get the Most Out of Your Summer Internship
By Emily Young MA ‘16
You’ve landed a summer internship, have a lay of the land, and figured out your commute; now what? Check out these tips to make the most of your summer internship.
Land That Job
By: Lauren Brose ‘15
I remember the first time I started to interview for jobs. My heart was racing, my hands were shaking, my voice trembled as I spoke. My obvious nervousness hindered me from being the confident person I normally am and it affected the likelihood of my interviewer trusting my competency for this position. Through time, the nerves became less noticeable and I began to sound sure of myself and passionate for the career I am pursuing. What started off from landing initial phone interviews and then being eliminated has turned into being invited to second round interviews. Along the way, I’ve reflected back at the lack of professionalism I displayed both in interviews and in the application process.
Graduation, then Google
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
I met Evan Brown on a Peaks and Professors Hike this semester and upon hearing he was a senior, asked the (for many) dreaded question, “What are your plans after graduation?”
SC Spotlight: Pocket Sun
By: Judy Lee ‘17
A thunderbolt who crashed onto the USC organization scene, Pocket is one of the most driven people I’ve met – with precision and execution to actualize her ambitions. Currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Pocket is also the founder and president of the newest female-oriented organization on campus: SoGal (previously known as GirlsUp). Her favorite snacks include a variety of Asian desserts!
From Donuts to Billions: The Unlikely Success Story of a Tiger Mom
By: Hannah Kim ‘15
The SoGal summit was the first of its kind- a day-long conference for female entrepreneurs! The day was packed with everything from free snacks to a selfie booth to a pitch competition. It was an opportunity for hundreds of women entrepreneurs/wannabe entrepreneurs to learn from and talk to investors and incubators. It was an incredible event but I was struggling with a bit of a hangover and found that all of the panels and speeches filled me with panic as I realized how much work it takes to create a start-up. What have I been doing with my life? Why have I wasted so much time? How will I ever be an entrepreneur? These despairing questions filled my throbbing head.
LA Mag: The Breakfast Conversation Series
By: Hannah Kim ‘15
Los Angeles Magazine recently hosted a panel where women leaders came together to talk about the importance of mentorship. Though they work in different fields and come from disparate backgrounds, these women all share the quality of being a *~badass~*. Whether they’re facilitating youth outreach programs in South Central LA or giving women the perfect blowout, they are empowered leaders who are making a tangible impact in their communities.
Stuck in a Bubble
By: Isabella Sayyah ‘16
Last week, I was in a meeting with the features web editors (my bosses, basically), the editors of all the features sections, and the homepage web editors. The homepage web editors wanted to go over pitching stories to put on the homepage, rather than just live on the section pages (food, fashion, etc.). Because the L.A. Times is a major, serious print publication, most of the homepage tends to be hard news stories, but there’s always a few lighter things on there as well (though sometimes you really have to scroll down to see them).
Unexpected Learning on the Job
By: Isabella Sayyah ‘16
The whole idea behind an internship is that it’s a learning experience. This concept, harkening back to the simpler times of apprenticeships, is really, I believe, what keeps the whole practice going. Well, that and the resume-building aspect.
Meaningful Internships
By: Mollie Berg ‘16
Over the past week, I feel like I have really understood the point of an internship. Not too long ago, I spoke with a Carousel employee about the concept of an internship. My boss said that the company essentially is supposed to give something to the interns (via teaching) that the company does not benefit from itself. Sounds simple enough. As interns, we are supposed to walk away having learned skills that will help us in our future. And thankfully, I really feel like I am. More so, the production company I am working for really takes that mission seriously.
Adjusting to the 9-to-5
By: Isabella Sayyah ‘16
One of the great things about interning at the L.A. Times is that they have a really established internship program that aims to give interns the opportunity to learn everything they can in 10 weeks. Though I learned a lot at my previous two internships, there tended to be less structure because the internship programs weren’t as large.