As classes wrap up and we get ready for winter break, it’s natural to look back on the semester and remember everything that happened the last few months. Here is a list of my 10 favorite memories from Fall 2015:
- Discovering Tofu Burgers
As a fairly new vegetarian of less than a year, there is a lot of weird veg stuff that I have yet to try. While I have tried tofu in things like miso soup and soyrizo and vegan cheesecake, I’ve never been one to just straight up eat a block of tofu, but when the only vegetarian options for lunch at my sorority were either a salad or a tofu burger, I reluctantly grabbed both, sad that there wasn’t any mac and cheese. When I tried the tofu burger, I was surprised. IT WAS SO GOOD. Maybe it’s been too long since I haven’t had meat, but I am definitely looking forward to more tofu in the future.
- A Visit from my Best Friend
For Gamma Phi Beta’s last invite, I invited my best friend from home who is in a sorority at a Cal State in central California. It was SO much fun showing her USC’s campus and introducing her to all of my friends. You know you’re doing college right when people from other universities visit and tell you they feel like they’re in a movie. She loved seeing everything, and we had so much fun hanging out on the rooftop of an apartment building overlooking LA before going to the venue.
- Intro to Environmental Engineering Microbiology
This class has been the first class that I’ve taken that has been really specific to one aspect of environmental engineering and explored it in depth. My partner and I just gave our final presentation on Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Marine Environments (basically how bacteria can clean up oil spills), and I think the subject is so cool, I’m considering pursuing research in it.
- Hometown Friendsgiving
During Thanksgiving break, my friends from high school and I all got together for Friendsgiving and we had so much fun. It’s really interesting comparing colleges and telling each other about our experiences and laughing about high school memories with them.
- Family Weekend
This was my family’s first real exposure to fraternity row, USC football, and the Trojan Family, and they were not disappointed. They had so much fun, my dad wants to get USC football season tickets so he can come to every game. This was the first time my parents and my brother (who think all Greek letters are basically the same) got to see my sorority house and meet my sisters. I loved giving them a tour and showing them my home away from home. Plus we beat the #3 team!!
- #ViterbiExpo
No I wasn’t kidding in my Instagram post when I said my excitement was unreal for Viterbi Expo at Discover USC. Even though I had to wake up at 6am and I was on running around Viterbi all day, it was SO much fun. I loved seeing all of the visitors and I loved answering questions of prospective students. Being able to share my experiences is one of the things I love about being a VSA. Plus, I got to see so many cool clubs and things that students do here that I don’t normally get to see.
- Beating UCLA
No explanation needed. Fight On.
- Meeting a Hedgehog
If you know me, you know I’m OBSESSED with hedgehogs and that it breaks my heart that it’s illegal to own them as pets in California (I would move but my love of Cali trumps my love of hedgies), so when I randomly ran into a guy holding a hedgehog at a philanthropy event, my life was made. Maybe we should start a #LegalizeHedgehogs campaign?
- Starting a New Internship
I was so happy when LA County Sanitation Districts offered me a part-time internship in their Compton field office. Working with LACSD has been an awesome learning experience. On my first day of work, my supervisor began explaining my project to me and he was literally going over something I had learned in microbiology 3 days before (sulfur bacteria). My project is crown corrosion and odor control in sewer lines, which draws on my knowledge of microbiology and wastewater from CE 210L as well as my knowledge of structures and concrete from my MATT Construction internship. It’s been so cool to see my classes and past work experience both play a role in my new internship.
- Joining Gamma Phi Beta
Although I was skeptical about Greek life (I didn’t join until this year), joining a sorority was one of the best decisions I’ve made at USC. I’ve met so many amazing people through it, and going to my sorority house feels like going home. Now that I’m on the executive board, I feel so much more connected. It’s definitely been the highlight of my semester!
Now that it’s winter break, I’m ready to relax and catch up with my friends and family from home. Keep up with me by following my Instagram @jamisonbria!
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