With the academic year coming to an end, USC prepares to say farewell to its newest graduating class. However, before they become alumni of the university, we took a look back on some of their journeys to get here today.
Back in 2019, the incoming class of 2023 was the most competitive to date. With a record 66,000 applicants for the university to choose from, only a selective 3,168 or 11%, were admitted. Of the applicants, one in four had perfect grades in high school, with an average SAT and ACT score in the 96th percentile.
Diversity was also at all-time highs, 27% of the class was made up of traditionally underrepresented groups, with Black people’s representation increasing by 13% from the previous year. Moreso, 15% of the students were first-generation, with another 15% being international students, a 5% increase from the previous year.
All of this to say, after being admitted to USC as a class with endless potential, four years later, their time as Trojan students have come to a close.
With that, we spoke with some of those graduating seniors to hear about their experiences, what they learned in their time at USC, and some of their best, and not-so-great memories.
For Felipe Morelli, a senior studying civil engineering, his favorite memory will always be his first football game at USC. Being under the huge lights, surrounded by thousands of football-crazy fans in the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was a huge change for Morelli, who grew up in Colombia.
“I didn’t grow up around traditional American football, so I didn’t really understand all the hype,” Morelli said. “That first game was very different, but I fell in love with the environment right away.”
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. As is likely a theme for all USC students, graduating or not, procrastinating on an assignment and waiting till the last minute to do it is never fun. For Morelli, it was his PPD GIS project, making this his least favorite memory at USC.
“I put it off until the final day and was frantically trying to get it done,” he said. “I thought my world was over, but obviously, in retrospect, it was so insignificant.”
Hailey Russell, a senior studying business administration major, agrees. Looking back on her time as a Trojan, she “always learned to look at the big picture of things” and that “the world is so much bigger than USC.”
For Russell, some of her best USC memories came from clubs at USC. Specifically with the Trojan Knights, USC’s oldest service and tradition-based organization, which she joined in the spring 2022.
“My favorite thing we do is called Tommy Watch,” said Russell. Tommy Watch is when the Knights guard the Tommy Trojan statue during the week USC plays UCLA in football, also known as Conquest Week. “We would stay up all night and play things like kickball in Han Plaza.”
However, for some who are going to other places for their future careers, they will just miss L.A.
“My favorite thing about USC has honestly been the weather,” said John McDonald, a senior studying environmental sciences. “I know it sounds silly, but it was always so nice to be able to go out in a shirt and shorts all year long.”
Nonetheless, as graduation grows closer and closer, many seniors are realizing just how much they have grown since coming to USC.
Joey Schifano, a senior studying human biology, had a less than ideal first day. “I was crying at the gerontology building,” he said. “I wanted to go home on my first day of college.”
However, he has since learned that is perfectly normal and that he wasn’t alone.
“Not everyone at USC has their stuff figured out, but everyone has a really cool backstory if you’ll listen,” Schifano said.
This year, USC’s 140th commencement ceremony will take place on May 12 at 8:30 a.m. in Alumni Memorial Park.