One aspect that the Centennial highlights is the acclaimed power and reach of the Trojan Network. USC is known for having an incredibly tight-knit community eager to help current and former students with their careers.
Suzanne Alcantara: I’ve worked at USC for almost 26 years,
Suzanne Alcantara is the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Career Development at USC.
Alcantara: So, the countless number of students who sat on one side of my desk that I’ve been able to connect with an alum, who then become part of this community of alum who will say yes when we ask them to come back and be in a program to connect with the students. The full circle moment of a student who comes in feeling lost and confused to starting their career, to getting established in their career and coming to give back, absolutely the favorite part of the work I do.
Alcantara says Alumni Homecoming demonstrates how one generation of Trojans helps the next.
Alcantara: The stories are endless. I mean, I think all students will see this when they’re on the other side of it. It’s hard to see it yet, but alum remember what it’s like to be a student, remember when somebody else reached out and offered them a hand or a support. They come back with the generosity and enthusiasm that is unparalleled.
For a big school, the help can fell very personal, says USC’s associate senior vice president for alumni relations Patrick Auerbach.
Patrick Auerbach: Once you’re in the Trojan family, if you’re a faculty member, a staff member, a community member, you feel this sense of pride and belonging and you just don’t feel that in other places, other places you might feel like another number. But while we’re a very large Trojan family, we’re a very tight knit Trojan family as well. You feel this amazing sense of kinship here that I don’t think you could feel anywhere else. And I think that’s just a part of who we are as an institution.
Auerbach had planned to work here for just a short time.
Auerbach: Having received my bachelor’s degree from the archrival across town, I honestly thought that it would be a great experience to work here, and I would show loyalty and eventually I would move on and do something else, and that was 23 years ago... I do have a life outside of USC, but USC has been such a huge part of my life that I’ve learned so much from it, and I’m just really proud to be able to give back to USC the way I do, the way I serve the institution, but also have USC continue to enrich my life even when I’m not sitting here at my desk on Trousdale Parkway.
Our alumni stretch from Trousdale to Timbuktu and beyond. No matter where they land after studying here. They are part of the Trojan family, and we hope to see them back on campus for this or another Alumni Homecoming Weekend.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Kamyar Moradi.