Hey guys, as the semester comes to a close, I’d like to take a minute and recap some of my favorite things about my sophomore fall semester!
These are honestly in no particular order, as they all have been extraordinary times at USC that I will remember for years to come.
Homecoming Football
I’m a huge fan of football in general, but there is something special about rooting for a team you are part of. Now, I don’t mean I am part of the USC football team, but as a part of the Trojan family, I feel like there is a special link between the fans and the players that hasn’t been replicated anywhere else in college football. Although there was a lot of controversy over rushing the field as a 12 time national champion football program, there was absolutely nothing that could stop us from storming the field with the way the game ended. For those who weren’t watching, the game ended with a 47 yard field goal kick from Andre Hedari (who has had a struggling season as a kicker) with 19 seconds left in the game. This is after we spent the entire second half going scoreless on offense, intercepting Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan twice, and blocking a field goal. I was lucky in that I was sitting in TrojaNation that day, which allowed me to be one of the first two rows to actually rush the field. There were plenting of things to celebrate that day including Homecoming and College Gameday, but after four years of disappointment against our rivals from the north, we finally came back, against all odds, to upset the cardinal and come together as a true Trojan family.
Elton John Performance
Seeing Elton was definitely a top ten for me this semester. It being only his second performance at a university, and his first at a university in the United States, there was definitely something special about watching one of music’s greatest performers in his prime. I started listening to Elton John as a kid, and this performance really brought me back to that time.
Performing with Rudy Francisco
As you may know, I spent a good deal of the semester planning an event to have Rudy Francisco perform on campus. Everything went pretty well except through a series of unfortunate events, Rudy actually showed up a little bit late. Nonetheless, I’ve learned that just because things don’t go according to plan doesn’t mean they still can’t go great. Having Rudy arrive a little later actually gave me the opportunity to perform some spoken word poetry and listen to others in the audience who wanted to perform as well. To top it all off, Rudy and I actually performed one of the same poems. There wasn’t a time that night that I didn’t have a smile on my face
Dodgers Game
Now, being from Northern California, it pains me to say that yes, I did in fact attend a Dodgers game that was not against the Giants. That being said, it was still fantastic. There is something about watching baseball live that makes it all the more enjoyable, especially when you go with close friends. I’m glad that I live in an area so close to so many sporting events that I can see on a regular basis!
Beta Theta Pi
One of the most time consuming, but also enjoyable aspects of my semester was joining a social fraternity. I pledged Beta Theta Pi and couldn’t be happier with my choice. Over the semester I have become friends with a great group of guys that are poised to become leaders in the world around us. In fact, I am proud to say that in November alone my fraternity raised over fifteen thousand dollars I support of men’s prostate cancer research. We were the highest grossing college group in the nation through the Movember charity foundation.
Viterbi Career Conference
The Viterbi Career Conference is actually one of my favorite events of the entire year. It’s a great experience to go out and talk with company recruiters to really just get an idea of what you might be interested in doing after work, and what recruiters are looking for in students. It also doesn’t hurt when Viterbi brings in awesome speakers like the founder of Pandora to talk about career experiences.
Rivalry Week
Every year I look forward to the USC-UCLA football game, and despite the fact that we have lost the last two years, I actually prefer a rivalry that is not so lopsided as it has been in the past. Competition is important in football, and I would rather go to a close game than a blowout any day, even if that means losing.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving was great for me to go back home and visit Northern California for the first time in almost a year. I absolutely love the bay, so only being able to visit it every once and a while makes it all the more special.
Macklemore
My last top ten experience for the semester actually hasn’t happened yet. It will happen later tonight at the staples center when. I see. Macklemore perform. I have been listening to Macklemore for almost two years now and I have been planning to see him for a long time. Tonight it becomes a reality (in t-minus six hours)!
Check out this gallery of all my favorite moments from USC Fall 2013!
