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.

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

Have you never been to Coachella, Stagecoach, Austin City Limits, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Burning Man, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, etc? You are not alone. Hi I’m Emily, age 22, and I am a summer concert newbie, unless, if you count Air and Style, but that’s the minor leagues. I’m talking the real deal: multiple days, huge headliners everyone has heard of, and ticket prices that will break your heart and wallet.

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

Networking and building your personal brand image isn’t top of mind when you think of social media platforms like Twitter. If you have never utilized Twitter to build your personal brand you probably have perceptions of Twitter like this:

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

Figuring out what to do on the 4th of July is tough with so many great options in Southern California. Let my experience guide you, along with some other great suggestions.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

In addition to my amazing host mom and rad, artsy, vegetarian host sister, I also have a super cool host brother who is a little older than me, here in Madrid. The mysterious man I stumbled upon in my new house the very first day I moved in turned out to be who he said he was and now we see each other all the time. Carmen explained to me when I asked what Victor does that he was a “go-go”, which I didn’t understand, but with a bit more pantomiming on her part, some hip thrusts and the like, I gathered means “dancer employed in a club.”

By: Lauren Brose ‘15

For everyone who’s gone through one before… breakups suck. It’s as if your best friend dropped from the face of the planet and now, suddenly, you no longer have that go-to person to talk to about everything. I am in no way a relationship expert as I have been fortunate enough to have only experienced a breakup once. Still, I remember the awkward period of time where I had no idea what to do with myself— or, as I now put it, my newfound freedom. There’s a number of things that I recommend doing as well as not. I’m not ashamed to admit that revamping my life after nearly 3 years of being in a relationship was pretty scary at first. But, with a new mentality and my real best friends by my side, I was able to experience my best year ever.

By: Emily Young MA ‘16

USC Women’s Sand Volleyball had the perfect season—literally. They finished 28-0 with the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship trophy in hand. The team brings home USC’s 123rd all-time national championship and I cannot think of a team more deserving for that honor.

By: Mark Love ‘16

With the first week of school since spring break coming to a close, I couldn’t help but ponder upon the adventures my friends and classmates have embarked on last week. One of my friends backpacked through Scandinavia while a classmate flew to Taiwan to celebrate the week off from school. While listening to their stories, I could only shrug my shoulders and smile hoping that no one asks about my spring break itinerary. Unfortunately, I had to show up to my internship during the week, so my journey towards everlasting merriment definitely hit a roadblock. But instead of mourning my stationary predicament, I decided to take advantage of the wonders that lie within the City of Angels.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

While many think of Madness and painstakingly-crafted brackets (to no avail, in my case) when they think of March, here at USC, this month has been chock full of EdMonth and an impressive array of guest speakers. Last night, I had the pleasure of learning about the World’s Education Superpower…

By: Lauren Brose ‘15

Alexis Jones is wearing fitted black jeans with tears at the knees, a loose black tank top and a pair of long necklaces. Her long brown hair bounces effortlessly as she walks over to a number of familiar faces sitting in the audience. Sharing the captivating story of how she found her passion, wrote a book, and founded I Am That Girl, Jones’ inspiration was first sparked at her alma mater, USC. Before she dove into the meat of her story, she first asked the audience a question:

By: Kelly Kinas ‘17

Unfortunately, not every one of your friends is lucky enough to go to USC. This university is exclusive and maybe your friends didn’t get in or chose to go somewhere else. Either way, USC is the best university and whether your friends know it or not, they wish they went here. When you go home and start telling people how amazing USC really is, it will probably make them jealous and sometimes friendships end because of jealousy. SO for you to keep your friends, here are some sarcastic examples of how to talk to your friends about USC that sound like bad things but are actually good.

By: Lauren Brose ‘15

Having a relationship during college is a fairly controversial matter—and by controversial I mean that depending on whom you ask, attitudes toward it varies. Many view their college years as a time to find themselves, make lifelong friends and discover our potential in the field(s) pursued. Often times, having a significant other just doesn’t fit in. I have friends who don’t see the logic in wasting their precious youth on a person they most likely won’t end up with. For them, the trade-off of focusing on themselves far exceeds focusing on a boyfriend or girlfriend. I don’t necessarily disagree with that. Relationships can be, at times, emotionally and mentally draining. It can also take up a lot of your time.