This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity to go on Viterbi Summer Overseas and spend 7 weeks studying in Paris, France. This program takes about 40 students every year to a different country in Europe and is open to all engineering majors. On the contrary to traditional study abroad, going abroad with the Viterbi Overseas program is a lot …
Bonjour! Oui! Je Suis Paris!
Welcome to my first installment of Study Abroad with Steven. Wow, that’s even more cheesy than anticipated. I just need somewhere to pour all of my amazing study abroad stories without any judgement of how much I talk about Europe and studying abroad. The point of the cringeworthy alliteration above is that I want to share my experiences that I …
Solo Travel and Backpacking Southeast Asia
When my semester in Australia ended it was nearly July. I had watched all of my USC classmates get out of school a month earlier and was ready for summertime fun.I decided to take a solo backpacking trip through various countries in Southeast Asia. I was planning on travelling for four weeks with nothing but my backpack to places I …
Where Class Meets the Great Barrier Reef
When I decided to apply to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia I knew that I wanted to go to the Great Barrier Reef. I was excited for a class called Australia’s Marine Environment because I knew it involved taking a field trip to the reef. Well—it finally happened! For the past five days I’ve been at the southern …
Halfway Through my Semester Overseas
Even though the academic year at USC is nearly over, I just hit mid-semester break at the University of Queensland. I thought I would take this break to reflect on my semester so far and talk about my favorite courses at UQ! I’m taking a course for abroad students called MARS2005: Australia’s Marine Environment. It is focused on Australia’s marine …
Preparing to Go Abroad!
My semester abroad begins this February! I can’t believe that starting this process in September would lead me overseas just a few months later. This all started when I received an email that said, “Enjoy 300+ days of sunshine a year in Australia!”. The photos linked in the message were of the University of Queensland located in Brisbane, Australia. It …
Spring Sophomore Szn
As the beginning of the end of my sophomore year gets under way, I have so much to look forward to in all aspects of my college life. I am going to split this up into three categories: classes, extra stuff, and what is beyond the end of this semester. AME 231 Mechanical Behavior of Materials: I am learning about …
A Study Break in Europe
Being a student doesn’t always afford the most free time, even during times considered breaks. Many students choose to spend their sunshine-filled summers taking extra classes, doing research, or going away for internships. That’s why this winter break, I decided to seize the opportunity to broaden my global horizons by planning my first ever trip to Europe! In total I …
Reflecting on Senior Year Fall!
Hey guys! Thanksgiving break has been soo good to me. I truly needed a refresher from the routine of school, it was honestly wearing me down a lot. While this semester has been incredibly fun and memorable, senior year has come with its fair share of existential crises, really tough classes, constant caffeination, and many late nights. That being said, …
Why the Viterbi Summer Abroad Program is What Dreams Are Made Of
The view down the street from my apartment This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Florence, Italy as a part of the Viterbi Summer Abroad program. Even though I didn’t end up becoming an Italian popstar, I definitely still had the summer of a lifetime. Abroad, I made tons new friends, traveled to places I never had even …
My Viterbi Summer Abroad
For seven weeks this summer, I was lucky enough to be one of about 40 students in the Viterbi Summer Abroad program, which takes a handful of USC students and professors to a city in Europe. This year, it was held in Florence, Italy, where we took classes and engaged in relevant cultural experiences. As usual, four classes were offered: …
USC iPodia: A “classroom without borders”
Hi guys! Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season so far!! I can’t believe it’s already (basically) December, this semester went by so fast. I absolutely love Christmas, so you know I’ve been blasting Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey for the last few weeks straight (also fun fact, Sia dropped a Christmas album?! wHAT?!). LA has a lot of …
My Winter Break Plans
Hey guys, exciting life update: I just found out that this winter break I officially will be traveling to Israel for 10 days with USC Hillel through Birthright! I had heard about Birthright at the beginning of my freshman year at USC and immediately decided that at some point in my 4 years here I had to participate. A couple …
Volunteers Around the World
I’d like to use my blog this week to talk about a really cool organization I’ve been part of since my first semester at USC – Volunteers Around the World (VAW). VAW is an international humanitarian institution devoted to improving the standard of living for those who live in some of the most poverty-stricken communities across the globe. With its …
Networking (with your Friends!)
One thing I’ve learned since being in college is that while networking with corporate representatives is important, making connections with your peers and the people you work with in school is crucial. The Trojan Family is definitely a real thing and I’ve encountered Trojan alums throughout the recruiting process (and in all 3 of my internships). Daisy!! Besides the value …
Studying Abroad is Expensive and Inapplicable, right? Wrong!
If you’ve stumbled upon my other blog, titled “The Five Staples of Rome,” you would know that this past summer was a whirlwind of highlights I will look back fondly upon for the rest of my life. But you’re probably thinking that this unbelievable experience came at a huge cost that forced me to drain my savings and take out …
My classmates are all over the world: USC iPodia!
From surfing and yoga, to improv, to ballroom dancing, USC has a lot of really cool classes. But one of my favorite classes this semester is one that is truly unique. It’s called iPodia! What exactly is iPodia, you ask? Well, its a class at USC called Principles and Practices of Global Innovation, but that’s not all. It’s actually part …
Shayna Goes Abroad Part 8: The End Already????
Wow this blog is really overdue, but the end of my semester til now has been INSANE. HKUST’s exam period took place over 2 weeks, and luckily all of mine were near the end so I was able to knock off two more countries from my travel list, Vietnam and Cambodia. My roommate and I spent three days each in …
A Day in my (Italian) Summer
Hey guys!! Spring semester ended about 10 weeks ago, but summer has already been absolutely crazy!! As some of you may know, I was lucky enough to spend the last eight weeks abroad, taking classes through the Viterbi Overseas Program. A friend and I flew in early and traveled around London and Amsterdam, then we proceeded to spend the next seven weeks …
Bamboo Research in China!
Wow. Okay, this one is going to be hard to write. I feel like I could write a blog post about each individual day I spent in China, but hopefully I can sum up my trip in this one. This summer I got the pleasure of going to China to study bamboo as a structural and design material. This opportunity was thanks …