Every Wednesday, from 12 to 1 p.m., a group of faculty members meet up in front of Tommy Trojan for a longstanding appointment: a weekly walk around campus.
The group sets out towards the Marshall School of Business building, taking a loop around campus while catching each other up on the week’s happenings.
Launched in 2023, WalkUSC has grown into a campus-wide exercise movement, bringing faculty and staff members together for 20- to 30-minute walks led by volunteers from across the university. Although the initiative was originally designed solely for faculty and staff, students are also welcome to join.
October was Physical Therapy Month, and WalkUSC partnered with the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy to host two “Walk with USC Physical Therapists” events. Physical therapists from the Engemann Student Health Center joined the walks and answered participants’ questions about injury prevention exercises, rehabilitation, treatments, and proper body mechanics.
Julia Chobdee, the associate director of the Health & Well-being program at the USC WorkWell Center, said the on-campus and remote walking initiative has served as an outlet for staff to increase their movement and activity by taking walks on designated routes through USC’s campus, or wherever they may be at the time.
“We’re seeing improved workplace relationships, we’re seeing an increased sense of community,” said Chobdee. “Some of these leaders might be [students’] advisors, they might be their professors, their supervisors.”
Some faculty members even invite their students to join them on walks.
“We’ve had a lot of engineering students, because some of our walk leaders are engineering faculty and staff,” Chobdee said.
Linda Bazilian, the director of academic programs for biological sciences at USC Dornsife, is a walk leader at the University Park campus and has regularly participated in WalkUSC since the beginning of the initiative.
“We talk about things, share stories, share recipes and what we’re doing,” said Bazilian. “We learn from each other, and it’s also a way for us to connect socially, because otherwise we wouldn’t see each other.”
WalkUSC has also incorporated remote walks as part of its programming, allowing participants to join a Zoom call and walk with the group from wherever they are. This remote option allows participants who work in other states or in different parts of California to feel like they are still a part of the campus community, Chobdee said.
“They get a sense of community, because they never get to see anyone, so it’s a chance for them to connect,” Chobdee said.
Altagracia Alvarez, the associate director of alumni relations for the USC Marshall School of Business and the USC Leventhal School of Accounting, works in the USC Tower in Downtown L.A. and serves as a walk leader for the Downtown route.
“I feel like there’s a lot of camaraderie,” said Alvarez. “When I first did it on campus, none of the folks that participated in the walk was anybody that I knew, and everybody that participated was a new relationship that I built.”
Chobdee hopes to increase student involvement in the program, and is considering giving students the opportunity to also serve as walk leaders.
WalkUSC hosts 27 walks per week and offers merch and workout gear to participants, including towels, clear bags and t-shirts. Some of the walks have specific themes, such as “kindness and gratitude,” and “Sustainability Strolls” are hosted on the third Thursday of each month at 2 p.m.
The next walk will take place on Wednesday at 8 a.m., starting at Tommy Trojan. For more information and to register to join a walk, visit the WorkWell website.
Ishita Pandey contributed to this story.