By: Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20

Hi, all! It’s been a while, and I’ve missed talking to you all! It’s midterms week (about to end, actually)! I want you all to remember that it is important to take care of your mental/physical health. I understand that it can be hard sometimes, especially with having to balance studying, classes, and whatnot, but please remember to check in with yourself! In fact, I’ve been taking time to myself as well. Below is a list of apps that can help relieve anxiety and stress. I’ve been using these apps for a while and most of them have been helpful! I recommend trying them out. I’ve included the links so that you all can check them out.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘18

Amber Rose rose to fame as Kanye West’s girlfriend in 2008, but just shy of 10 years later, she is now known for her efforts in the world of feminism. This past weekend in Los Angeles, men, and women who identify as feminists came together for Rose’s inaugural OPENed Women’s Conference and the Amber Rose SlutWalk. The weekend kicked off with Saturday’s OPENed conference, hosted by the Amber Rose Foundation and the USC Dornsife Center for Feminist Research in Ronald Tutor Campus Center.

By: Ayman Siraj ‘18 and Nathaniel Diakun

On the weekend of the 15th – 17th September, the Cyber Security & Forensics Organization at USC hosted its first Cyber Security Awareness Week Capture the Flag (CSAW CTF) event. CSAW is the largest student-run cyber security event in the world, featuring international competitions, workshops, and industry events. It was founded by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at New York University. A CTF is an ethical hacking competition where players solve cyber security challenges of various difficulties with the harder challenges assigned more points. The challenges are segmented by Binary Exploitation, Cryptography, Forensics, Reverse Engineering & Web Hacking.

By: Joy Ofodu ‘18

You’re on Menlo, partying on a Thursday night. That girl who sits to your far left in Discussion every Tuesday is going hard on the dance floor (so you join her, duh). You part ways and bump into each other an hour later, but something has changed: She seems sluggish, exhausted and unwilling to follow her new companion out the door (a dude you absolutely don’t recognize). He seems really impatient to take her home, and she seems really really unwilling. What do you do?

By: Jonathon Xue ‘19

Find counseling here.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Lauren Jones will be the first to tell you she doesn’t have it all figured out. Founder and face of LoJo Media started her career right here at USC as a journalism student. LoJo Media is a Los Angeles based media company providing sports fans with a behind-the-scenes perspective on their favorite athletes and trending sports stories. Her biggest client is the Nike sponsored ‘Drew League. “ known for attracting LA streetball legends, collegiate athletes, and several NBA stars. Her company’s goal is to shed light on the positive impact athletes have had historically and continue to have on our society. Jones, only 24 has had many successes in her post-graduate life; including landing her dream job at ESPN and starting her own company. In my interview with her, she offered some advice for college students, specifically those with an entrepreneurial mindset.

By: Joy Ofodu ‘18

The Career Fair can be a dark event for many: apprehension over resume bullet points, elevator pitches and career conversations reigns high as Trojans fall in line with their peers to pursue their futures. The light to shine through all of this darkness? The amazing outfits donned by the young professionals of ‘SC!

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Panelists Bethann Hardison and Mara Brock Akil spoke to each other on the challenges regarding diversity and inclusion in their respective fields, feminism and activism at ‘Race and gender in TV and fashion’ last Thursday in Wallis Annenberg Hall.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

There is no surprise that college is stressful. Between balancing work, friendships, internships and your financial life, these formative years teach us a lot about ourselves and the way we handle stress. In the event that something tragic happens, it can be hard to cope and balance it with the already strenuous college experience. In April as I was preparing for finals, my father passed suddenly. My world was flipped upside down. I talked to my dad twice everyday about anything from my lectures in my law class to Colin Kaepernick to drama with my friends. Suddenly not having him there to talk to for advice threw off daily life. No day felt complete. I was depressed - unable to focus and constantly feeling empty. Loss and subsequent grief can come in many forms. Whether it is being rejected from your dream internship (it’s happened to me), experiencing a heart-wrenching breakup, or losing a loved one, there are healthy and effective ways deal with the pain.

By: Jamie Wu ‘18

1. Follow up with the recruiters you talked to.

During the career fair, hundreds of students line up to talk to recruiters and hand over their resumes. During the 5 minutes of interaction that you have with the recruiter, it’s most likely that he or she will not remember your face and resume. It’s nothing against you but due to the sheer number of applicants, it’s hard for them to remember everyone. That is why it is just as important to follow up with an email that includes: one interesting thing you talked about with the recruiter and a thank you note to them for taking the time to come to the career fair. You want to send the email on the day of the career fair or the next day at the latest. When you do this, you set yourself apart from the other applicants who don’t send an email at all. And trust me, after being on the employer side of recruiting, this act really will make a difference.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Do you live to eat? Are you not yourself when you’re hungry? Or, maybe you’re just a college student who just moved off campus. Either way you look at it, you are going to have to go grocery shopping to cure your ‘hanger’. Eating out, ordering UberEats, or bumming food off of your friends all the time can become expensive and pretty annoying.

By: Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20

Hi, all! I hope classes are going well. And I hope you’re taking self care procedures to make sure your well-being is at its greatest. I figured that since I started my sophomore year at SC, I’d let the freshmen know what I learned as a freshman last year (hence the title). So, let’s get into it!