Like the freshman fifteen, there are a few things you can expect to happen during the start of your college career. At the beginning, I thought that secondhand stories and research about college life had prepared me for it all. I knew I would miss my home and my old friends. I could count having conflicts with my roommates and struggling with balancing work and fun. But during my second semester at USC, one thing I hadn’t planned to encounter snuck up on me— an OCD diagnosis.  

As a Cinema and Media Studies major, there aren’t a lot of students who are interested in law school within my major nor within SCA. As someone who untraditionally chose the Pre-Law path, one of the first things I considered was if I really needed to major or minor in a traditional pre-law subject for law school. To cut the chase: no, you don’t need to.

When I was a senior in high school, USC was my dream school. It had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember since so many of my family members were alumni. Unfortunately, I was rejected, and it was a tough blow. It took me some time to recover from that disappointment, but I soon realized that attending USC could still be within reach when I learned about the Trojan Transfer Plan (TTP). At the time, TTP was offered to a select group of students, giving us the opportunity to study at one of five USC-accredited universities in Europe.

So, if you’re offered a job in another state or one that demands excessive overtime, take a moment to step back. Make a list of your negotiables and non-negotiables, and consider whether the job is truly right for you. I’ve made the mistake of pushing myself out of my comfort zone relentlessly for the sake of a job. While growth often comes from challenges, it’s important to recognize when the sacrifices just aren’t worth it. Your life should reflect all the things that matter to you, not just your career.

A common refrain that you might expect to hear from Political Science majors is, “Majoring in Political Science made me realize I hate politics.” As a bright-eyed underclassman, I didn’t think this would be what I would become. I had dreams of becoming a political journalist with wide expertise. I would “speak truth to power.” I would “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” These are sentiments I hold a great respect for still, but the avenue that I see myself fulfilling these pursuits has changed dramatically.

Sometimes it feels like the friendliness at this school flows as much as the LA river. Maybe it was strong and powerful in the past. But over time, it’s slowed to a trickle. Then the walls went up, and now at times, the friendliness is barely there. In some areas, it’s more of a creek than a river, to be honest. 

Even though Starbucks is constantly throwing out new drinks, it’s still easy to get tired of just Starbucks. As a self-proclaimed coffee lover and fun drink connoisseur, seeing how many coffee shops there were on campus was exciting, but also a little confusing. I wasn’t sure which one would become my favorite, because how could anything replace my favorite hometown coffee shops?

This summer was an absolute whirlwind. Like many others can attest to, the process of obtaining an internship and then moving to a new city to work for three months can be extremely exciting but also nervewracking. Transitioning from applying for my L’Oréal internship to studying abroad in Milan last spring to moving straight to New York City for my internship was a hectic experience, especially as an LA native, but it was definitely manageable and enjoyable!

Going into my junior year, I knew I wanted to start making the most of my summers. With only two left, it was important for me to find an internship or some sort of career-advancing opportunity. As someone who’s heavily considering staying in Los Angeles after graduation, it was important for me to find said opportunity down here. The only problem was that I’m from Portland, not LA, so staying here over the summer would require more effort than it would if I tried to find a job back home.

Everytime I tell someone that I used to be in SCA, they have a visceral reaction. Usually it falls somewhere in between shocked and straight up shaming me for leaving the program. Yes, there is no denying that getting into the School of Cinematic Arts is an amazing opportunity – I will always be thankful that they gave me the chance to be a student there. This does not, however, change the fact that it was not for me.

One of my biggest fears when starting at USC was the sheer size of the student body. I went to a tiny high school where everyone knew everyone. Moving to a university with over 20,000 students, I was scared I would drown. This was one of the main reasons I joined Thematic Option – because it offered small class sizes, along with academic rigor.

During my time doing work-study jobs at USC, I have gradually learned many useful things about navigating work-study that I wish I had known from the beginning. From learning how to obtain work-study to balancing my work-study amount between two jobs, I’ve obtained so much knowledge of the process of pursuing work-study. So, if you’re just beginning to look into work-study allow me to save you some time and effort by answering some of the questions you may have about work-study.