Hey everyone, the semester is winding down and finals are right around the corner, so it’s only natural to procrastinate by remembering all of the awesome things I got to do this semester before posting up in the library for the next week and a half. Junior year has been challenging, but I’ve also had the opportunities to make it the greatest semester at SC thus far. Here’s a little list of some of my favorite things I did this semester:
10. USC vs. ASU – Early on in the semester I got to travel back home to Phoenix for the away football game at ASU. Not only did I get to see a great Trojan win, but I also got to see my family and show some SC friends my roots in the 602.
9. Bringing my car to school – Going home meant I got to drive my car back to school! While a car was by no means necessary during freshman and sophomore year, having a car has allowed me to travel around to explore more of LA this semester. 8. Declaring my mechanical emphasis – After 4 1/2 semesters without an emphasis I finally pulled the trigger and declared a mechanical emphasis within biomedical engineering. While a late switch up was kinda scary, I’ll still be able to graduate on time, and be able to take classes more specific to my interests. 7. USC vs. Notre Dame – Traveling to Chicago with my dad, seeing my Godfather, and making the road trip to South Bend was truly a weekend to remember. Although the Trojans lost, the historic rivalry made for an awesome atmosphere and I definitely want to go back in the future.
The temperature may be dropping here in LA, but at least we don’t live in South Bend A photo posted by Alex Budde (@fightonbudde) on Oct 19, 2015 at 10:25pm PDT
Poppy + Rose Chicken & Waffles
6. Eating my way through LA – As I’ve mentioned in several of my other blogs, the food in LA is probably my second favorite thing to do behind watching Trojan football. From Chicken & Waffles to Asian Fusion, I can’t get enough of LA food.
Our seats in Levi’s Stadium
5. Pac-12 Championship Game – This past weekend I made the trek up to Santa Clara to watch the Trojans take on the Cardinal. It was a tough loss, but I will never forget driving 10 hours over a 17 hour period and sitting directly behind the goal post in the brand new Levi’s Stadium.
4. Late night studying – Weird, right? Every single semester between midterm season and homework sets I end up having a couple week stretch of staying up really late with friends to do work, and while we’re not too productive in the wee hours of the night it makes for great memories and even better Snapchats.
3. Showing my grandparents LA – For the first time since coming to SC my grandparents got to come visit for Trojan Family Weekend. We had a great time at the Utah game, and I got to show my grandparents the great city where I go to school!
Me and my friends @ the UCLA game
2. 3D Printing a Prosthetic Hand – This semester I joined 3D4E and hopped on the Freehand project to 3D print a prosthetic hand for a child in need. Learning about the 3D printing process got me really excited to take my CAD class next semester, and the finished product was very rewarding.
1. Beating UCLA! – After 3 years of tough losses, we finally pulled out a W against the Bruins. Coming back to LA early after Thanksgiving was a lot of fun as the Coliseum was the most rowdy it has been during my time at SC.
I’m almost 5/8 of the way done my undergrad career which is crazy to think about, but every semester only gets better. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the next year and a half, and I hope everyone has a great, well-deserved break after we #BeatTheFinals!
[author title=”Author” author_id=””] Button Text
